A large crowd demanding justice for slain teenager Michael Brown, marched from Mt. Vernon Square in Washington D.C. to the commercial district surrounding Chinatown on Saturday night August 23, 2014 temporarily stopping traffic at the intersections of 7th & H Sts under the Chinatown Arch, and 7th and F Sts near the Verizon Center. Speakers at the rally included ANSWER Coaltion activist Eugene Puryear, D.C., the Statehood Green Party candidate for an at-large City Council seat; Salim Adofo of the National Black United Front; Kymone Freeman from We Act Radio; Reverend George C. Gilbert, Jr. of the Holy Trinity United Baptist Church; and Ayanna Gregory, daughter of social activist Dick Gregory. The protest, which took place in the early evening hours, was peaceful.
Protests have erupted nation-wide since a white police officer fatally shot the unarmed 18 year old African-American Brown in Ferguson Missouri on August 9. To chants of "Hands Up! Don't Shoot! and "Shut Down Chinatown", the demonstrators at this march demanded the arrest of the police officer, the demilitarization of police departments and the addition of video cameras to police uniforms to monitor their activity.