Hundreds march in Toronto ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest

Thousands of protesters are taking part in rallies across North America to bring attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police.

More than 200 protesters gathered at Nathan Philips Square to protest police brutality and racism.

 

Sandy Hudson organized the event in Toronto and said that this isn’t just an issue in the United States.

“This isn’t something that is just local to the United States, it is an issue that affects people here as well,” said Hudson. “We can stop this.”

 

Chanting “black lives matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot,” the group marched from city hall to the intersection of Yonge and Dundas streets.

Protesters then laid down on the street for four-and-a-half minutes to represent the four-and-a-half hours Michael Brown was left on the road after he was shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

 

Protesters were also demanding justice for Eric Garner, the 43-year-old man who died in July after being put in an apparent choke hold by an NYPD officer, as well as Jermaine Carby who was shot and killed at a traffic stop in Brampton on Sept. 25.

Hudson says they hope to bring awareness to the issue and make sure people are working on solutions to make sure these shootings stop.

“We want the city council to implements some recommendations that have been made about how we can drop the racialized effects of the way they we currently policing in this city,” she explained.

Meanwhile, civic rights organizations held a march in Washington D.C. on Saturday.

Thousands of protesters made their way down iconic Pennsylvania Avenue as they marched to the Capitol.

With signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and “Who do you protect? Who do you serve,” the crowd gathered in Freedom Plaza before the march.

“Let’s keep it strong, long and meaningful,” Garner’s widow Esaw told the group.

Organizers had predicted 5,000 people, but the crowd appeared to far outnumber that.

Protests, some violent, have occurred around the United States since grand juries last month declined to indict the officers involved in the deaths of Brown and Garner. Some protesters held signs and wore shirts that said “I can’t breathe” on Saturday.

With files from The Associated Press

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