Thousands of protesters from across America converged on Washington DC for a big march on Saturday to focus on the recent killings of unarmed black men by white police officers, and urge the US Congress and federal authorities for “systemic change, accountability and justice in cases of police misconduct”.
Joining the “Justice for All” march were families of a number of black men who died at the hands of police — Eric Garner of New York, Michael Brown of Ferguson, Akai Gurley of New York and Tamir Rice of Cleveland. The family of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was fatally shot by a neighbourhood watch coordinator of a gated community in Sanford, Florida, was also to join the event.
“We need more than just talk; we need legislative action that will shift things both on the books and in the streets,” said civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Alliance is leading the protest.
Overwhelmed by the outpouring of support, Garner’s mother Gwen Carr said: “Keep on doing it, but just do it in peace.” “This march is one of many demonstrations to show Congress, the country and the world that we will not stand down until systemic change, accountability and justice in cases of police misconduct are served,” NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) President and CEO Cornell William Brooks said in a statement.
The “chokehold” death of Garner in New York’s Staten Island and the fatal shooting of Brown in Ferguson and the decision of grand juries in both instances not to indict while police officers triggered waves of protests across America over the past fortnight. Protesters from many of these centres were arriving in Washington on Saturday morning for the national march that was expected to block Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the US Capitol, seat of the US Congress.