Written by | Ray Cornelius
Check out some amazing images from Friday night’s March for Justice in Atlanta, GA. The event was organized by the local chapter of the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter Movement. The protest was in response to this week’s horrific police shootings of two African-American men—Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, LA and Philando Castile of St. Paul, Minnasota. Both were shot multiple times and killed by police officers within 24 hours of each other. Their murders not only sparked outrage across the country but served as a catalyst for a number of protests that broke out in numerous cities including New York, Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Atlanta. There was also a march in Dallas, TX on Thursday evening that resulted in a lone sniper shooting and killing five police officers in retaliation for Sterling and Castile’s deaths.
The new National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) was the epicenter for last night’s protest. Participants began marching at the base of the Center on Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd toward’s Atlanta’s famed Peachtree Street. From there, the marchers traveled south to Andrew Young International Blvd. and then Centennial Olympic Park. It actually concluded at the south entrance of the CNN Center. Thousands of men, women and children gathered for the event holding numerous signs and posters with “Black Lives Matter” written across them as well as images of their family members and other known African-Americans that were killed by the police. It was a very moving and powerful scene. There were many times I found myself holding back tears because of an overwhelming mix of emotions. To see all walks of life—Black, White, Gay, Straight, Hispanic—come together for one united front was awe inspiring.
This was in fact my very first march for justice and I must commend both entities for organizing it in such a short period of time. While most media outlets today are focusing on the part of the march that shut down Williams Street and the Downtown Connector, I would rather focus on the parts I captured that were peaceful and inspiring. However, there were a few things that I would like to point out that could have made the march a little more effective.
- Whenever hosting a gathering of this magnitude, it is imperative to have as many of the organization’s members as visible as possible. This is your march and you’re ultimately responsible for the participants and their actions. Identifiable members are able to keep the flow and pace of the march moving forward in a manner and fashion that is orderly and peaceful.
Invest in some exceptional sound equipment such as bullhorns, microphones and speakers. Your message should be heard by all and it was very difficult to hear the NAACP’s leaders speaking with helicopters flying overhead and marchers chanting.- Once the march is over, have a designated area for the participants to congregate or fellowship. I hate to say it but last night was a missed opportunity to get people registered to vote. While the NAACP encouraged many of them to do so in the future, having tables in place with registration information readily available would have been more effective. It would have also been a great time to expose the marchers to other social, political and grassroots organizations and agencies that support the NAACP and Black Lives Matter missions.
Again, my hats off to the NACCP and Black Lives Matter Movement for last night’s march. See more images below and let me know your thought:
Photo Credits: RayCornelius.com
