Protesters gathered again Dec. 5 in what has become an almost daily affair in downtown D.C., since the Darren Wilson non-indictment over a week ago. The near parallel decision to not indict a New York City white police officer in the death of a black man further stoked passions in the city.
What began as two separate protests on Thursday joined together in front of the D.C. Police Department on Indiana Avenue. Flanked by police officers, around 500 protesters peacefully marched until midnight, shutting down major thoroughfares such as Pennsylvania Avenue and H Street.
Protests have continued almost daily as of Dec. 16.
Eric Garner’s death, which occurred after he looked to be put in a chokehold by a white New York City police officer, had protesters chanting “If I can’t breath, you can’t breath.” Many demonstrators, such as Northwest D.C. resident Keith Stephenson, came out for their first protest Dec. 5.
“I feel like there is a criminalization of poor people, and I think it just continues, so I came out to support the cause,” Stephenson said, who heard of the protests through word of mouth and the Internet.
The protests in D.C. since the decision to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown have brought together hundreds of people on an almost daily basis. The protests have covered a multitude of issues, including the deaths of Brown and Garner, controversy surrounding Wal-Mart in D.C., police brutality and a broader struggle for equality.
Demonstrators on Thursday also paid their respects to the city’s iconic former mayor Marion Barry, who died Nov. 24. Barry was a civil rights activist throughout the 60s. Marching south on Pennsylvania Avenue, demonstrators stopped by the John A. Wilson Building, where Barry’s body lay in repose through Thursday and early Friday.
Protesters pass by the casket of former city mayor and civil rights activist Marion Barry. PHOTO: CUNEYT DIL/THE EAGLE
Protests have continued at various locations downtown, including as recent as outside the Department of Justice on Wednesday.
While many protesters on the streets have been young men and woman, 64-year old Dianne Hicks has been protesting her entire life and came out Thursday because she said her father was a victim of police brutality.
“I started [protesting] as a child with Martin Luther King with my parents and grandparents," Hicks said, who grew up in the now Columbia Heights neighborhood. “My father was a victim of police brutality. I was with my father when it happened. That has been with me my entire life.”
