On Saturday, December 13th, tens of thousands of demonstrators (organizers put the number at 70 thousand) – outraged at police brutality and a system of racial inequality – marched in New York City from Washington Square Park, uptown through the heart of the holiday shopping district at Herald Square and then downtown to a rally and speak out at one police plaza. The march was lead by led by family members of those who have lost loved ones to police murder – including family members of Mike Brown, Jordan Davis, Shantel Davis, Sean Bell, Emmitt Till, Alberta Spruill, Ramarley Graham, and Kimani Gray.
What was striking- and encouraging- about this massive action was that it was organized and lead by young people of color- women in particular. The Millions March NYC originally organized by Synead Nichols, 23, and Umaara Iynaas Elliott, 19, in New York City, rapidly turned into an international Day of Resistance with protestors of all ages and ethnicities marching in their communities demanding more accountability in deadly and racially biased police tactics while declaring that #BlackLivesMatter.
Synead Nichols spoke with Acronym TV after the march. “50-70 thousand people were here tonight, showing that we can stand united peacefully. We can have emotions. We can be outraged. We can be angry, because we have a right to be angry. People are dying left and right – our children are dying – it’s a travesty. But, we can be here, united and peaceful, and show that we want change. That is what we did today. “
Local organizers stressed that this movement is growing out of the historical moment brought on by the Mike Brown case in and the “incredible bravery” of organizers and protesters in Ferguson, MO who have been in the streets, often facing down a paramilitary police force, for over 100 days and counting.
“This is not something new, this is not just a response to Eric Garner. It is not just a response to Mike Brown. It is a response to building tensions and building issues of racial inequality,” according to activist Sabaah Jordan. “The people in Ferguson
really have to be given credit, because it was a handful of young people who saw something wrong and stayed in the street and that was the catalyst that made people wake up and say: ‘no, we can’t take this anymore.'”
“The inequalities in this system come from white supremacy,” according to NYC based activist George Machado. “The system is not broken. It is working perfectly OK. This whole thing needs to go. If we tie everything we win to that, then everything that this (system) is becomes illegitimate. (and then) this world becomes better for everyone, because black liberation is liberation for the entire world.”
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