Thousands of Americans took to the streets to protest the killings of unarmed black men by police officers.
Above: A woman takes part in a march against police violence in Midtown Manhattan, New York. December 13, 2014.
Above: A woman takes part in a march against police violence in Midtown Manhattan, New York. December 13, 2014.
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© AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana
Peaceful rallies were held in New York, Boston, Washington DC and several other cities.
Above: Protesters march on Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol Hill in Washington DC. December 13, 2014.
Above: Protesters march on Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol Hill in Washington DC. December 13, 2014.
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© AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana
The protests were sparked by the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police officers in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City respectively.
Above: Demonstrators march on Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol Hill in Washington. Saturday, December 13, 2014.
Above: Demonstrators march on Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol Hill in Washington. Saturday, December 13, 2014.
The decisions by grand juries not to indict officers responsible for the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York and the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson further exacerbated the situation.
Above: SantaCon reveler watches as protesters march in New York. December 13, 2014.
Above: SantaCon reveler watches as protesters march in New York. December 13, 2014.
About 3,500 people participated in a protest march in Oakland. In 2009, an unarmed African American man named Oscar Grant III was fatally shot there by traffic police.
Above: A police officer looks into the crowd after he was hit on the leg with paint thrown by protesters during an evening demonstration against police violence, in Oakland, California. December 13, 2014.
Above: A police officer looks into the crowd after he was hit on the leg with paint thrown by protesters during an evening demonstration against police violence, in Oakland, California. December 13, 2014.
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© AP Photo / John Minchillo
Reverend Al Sharpton, one of the leaders of the rally in Washington, stressed that it was "an American march", not "a black march or a white march", according to The Guardian.
Above: Illuminated chants of the protesters at a rally in downtown Manhattan in New York. December 13, 2014.
Above: Illuminated chants of the protesters at a rally in downtown Manhattan in New York. December 13, 2014.
The protests were mostly peaceful all across the country.
Above: A man wearing symbolic chains takes part in a march against police violence, in New York December 13, 2014.
Above: A man wearing symbolic chains takes part in a march against police violence, in New York December 13, 2014.
Protesters at the University of California, Berkeley, hung life-sized photographs and effigies of lynching victims around campus.
Above: A protester in tears during the march against police violence in Oakland, California. December 13, 2014.
Above: A protester in tears during the march against police violence in Oakland, California. December 13, 2014.
"I can't breathe" - the final words Eric Garner gasped before his death at the hands of New York police officers - were adopted as a slogan by many of the protesters.
The protesters demanded justice for the victims of police brutality and to change US legislation to prevent such tragedies in the future.
