Diaz Love. Activist. Livestreamer. Non-Binary (They / Them)
For our second Voices of the Revolution we are featuring Diaz Love. During the Capitol Hill Occupied Protests, Diaz Love grew a large following from just being down in the CHOP, and camping their with their medley assortment of rescued dogs. They slept in a tent, and had their van there.
While many other livestreamers and broadcasters were out there promoting a brand, Diaz Love simply recorded what they saw, and what the experience inside of CHOP looked like. In addition, by being camped near the Black / Indigenous community garden, they often had a unique look of Cal Anderson, and the hundreds of people camped in that area, where as many people focused their attention to Pine, and later, more narrowed into the East Precinct on 12th and Pine.
We appreciate Diaz Love for their frank and realistic live stream. As incidents kept occurring each night, and the situation got more and more dangerous, Diaz Love kept camping, and kept reporting, even to the point of crowdfunding among friends to help buy them a bullet proof vest. On the night of June 30th, they were the only livestreamer still covering the CHOP when a white vehicle drove through the tents of Cal Anderson, looping around to gunshots before circling around and ramming through CHOP barricades, leaving two teenagers shot, one fatally, and one still recovering.
This live news coverage of a tragic event provided invaluable information for people desperately seeking to understand the unfolding tragedy. Slowly, as folks got to know Diaz Love, they were invited to come and cover the Black Femme Marches that left nightly from the 10th and Pine from #CHOP, and headed to the West Precinct in downtown Seattle, before returning, sometimes via the Freeway, and back around midnight.
The Seattle People’s Department. Photo by: Derek Simeone | Creative Commons 2.0
After the shootings, Diaz Love took some much needed mental time, before returning to Seattle, and staying in a safe driveway in their van with a friend. After #CHOP was dispersed by police, Diaz Love continued to cover the Black Femme marches, which often had a celebratory and positive air, even while covering incredibly hard topics, and in the face of countless confrontations and tragedy.
During #CHOP, Diaz camped with the dozens of kitchens near Riot Kitchen, and the Black / Indigenous Community Garden. Photo by: Benjamin Morawek | Creative Commons 2.0
Increasingly, and similar to protests happening around the country, more and more drivers aggressively attempted to drive through the protests, including a brother of a police officer who drove into a crowd in front of the East Precinct and shot a protester in the arm, a grub hub driver in a large pickup truck in early June and even an off duty cop on Boren, the same night that protesters were hit on I-5. No charges were pressed against the officer, and WSP say that the two events are not connected.
On July 4th, Diaz Love was again covering the Black Femme Marches as they walked out onto the I-5 freeway for the 17th consecutive night to raise awareness of Black Lives Matter when they were struck by a driver intentionally drove up the wrong way of an exit ramp, circled around, went around protest support vehicles and sped up as it hit protesters. This occurred despite the full knowledge and freeway closure by Washington State Patrol, who blocked every lane of traffic and entrance for more than a mile in either direction. Diaz Love and another non-binary individual, Summer Taylor were hit, and Summer Taylor passed away soon after. Diaz Love is in serious condition and a lot of pain, but is conscious and responsive, and will hopefully make a full recovery.
Diaz Love is a citizen journalist. They are not paid to be out there, and put their lives at great risk so that people can have a live glimpse at what is happening on the ground, unadulterated by spin.
If you want to support them, you can donate directly via:
- – Venmo @itsdiazlove
- – PayPal lovediaz@pdx.edu
You can also support their Go Fund Me to help cover their medical expenses here:
There is also a Go Fund Me for the family of Summer Taylor, who will decide where the money goes:
