New Yorkers Call For Justice In Local Protests As Thousands March In Nation's Capital To Honor March On Washington Anniversary
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As thousands marched for change Friday in Washington, D.C., several marches were held in New York City in a show of solidarity.
With the city skyline at sunset as their backdrop, hundreds of people crossed the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn on Friday, walking as one.
"We are here because we're tired of not being seen and not being heard and for our lives not mattering," protester Tiffany Thompson told CBS2's Ali Bauman.
"It's either we fix things or we let it get worse," another protester said.
The "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" march is in support of the demonstrations in Washington.
There have been widespread demonstrations throughout the city since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis more than three months ago.
That emotion was brought back to the surface after police shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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For Athenia Rodney, the ongoing calls for justice are just as important now as ever.
"We're not trying to put another Band-Aid on a bunch of old Band-Aids that have been ripped off really fast," she told CBS2's Kevin Rincon.
Rodney started a group months ago called Moms Who Lead With Love. Many of her members went down to Washington for the rally there. Others joined in virtual events.
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She says things are different now because of the voices that are joining the movement.
"Because it's not just seen as Black people being angry about what's going on. Now it's white people saying, no, this isn't right, this is unjust and we need to do something about it," Rodney said.
For Jo Macellaro and Selu, they've worked to raise awareness by leading rallies, marches and other demonstrations.
"We're still trying to shake the foundations of the nation because we still don't have justice for people who are Black in this country," Macellaro said.
They say things have changed in part because of the pandemic. It's made people more aware of the racial disparities throughout society.
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"To an extent, people who don't experience racism themselves in their daily lives and may not even have loved ones who experience it are able to ignore it, even though it's in the news and it's happening all the time," Macellaro said.
They hope coming out for marches like these can help change the narrative in people's daily lives.
"You can't just think about these things when you're out at a rally. It has to be something that you're thinking about in your daily lives. Like, how do you interact with certain products, how do you interact with certain companies? How do you interact with certain workplace issues? How do you interact with family and friends who are somewhat problematic?" Selu said.
Stacey-Ann Chin has been an activist in Brooklyn for many years and says she is tired of seeing history repeat.
"I've been in the struggle since it was Amadou Diallo," she said. "Those in power must know that the public is remarkably upset and angry and needing them to change something."
She feels too much is on the line in this moment to sit home.
"When history is written down, they must know that we were here," Chin said.
Many people at the march reiterated that effecting change does not stop when the march is over. They hope people continue having these conversations at home and in daily life. \
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