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Countless people of all races took to the streets in New York and Washington, D.C., to protest police brutality today.

While they were walking under two different banners in two different cities protestors for both demonstrations had a very clear message: the American people will no longer tolerate excessive force being used against people in the Black community.

#MillionsMarchNYC protesters be could heard shouting “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and “Justice Now!” as they made their way from Washington Square uptown to Herald Square and back this afternoon. According to Urban Cusp, people could be heard chanting Eric Garner! Michael Brown! Shut it down! Shut it down!”

Ahead of them, marchers carried eight panels to create a banner image of a pair of eyes. The piece was created by an artist named JR and his assistant Tony Herbas told The Huffington Post, “The eyes were chosen as the most important part of the face.”

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o capture an image of the banner and posted it to her Instagram as part of a collage.

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Jordan Davis’ father, Ron, was also among those gathered in New York today, showing his solidarity with the cause. Although his son was gunned down by a civilian, who was convicted of first-degree murder, Ron believes that the outcome Jordan’s case should not be a remarkable exception.

“We have to make everybody accountable,” Davis told HuffPo. “You can’t continue to see videos of chokeholds, videos of kids getting shot in the back, and say it’s all right. We have to make sure we have an independent investigator investigate these crimes that police carry out.”

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Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., protesters that couldn’t make it up to New York had another march down Pennsylvania Avenue demanding #Justice4All.

The march in Washington was organized by Al Sharpton and the National Action Network. “We are not anti-police; we are anti-police-brutality,” Al told protesters this morning according to HuffPo. “And today we challenge Congress to follow in the president’s footsteps and take legislative action to protect us, the citizens.”

The peaceful protest was led by people related to Michael and Eric as well as Tamir Rice’s family members. At first, there were only a few hundred people who came out to Freedom Plaza this morning, but thousands had gathered by noon as they marched along their route, chanting, “Justice for all!”

It’s unclear if these demonstrations actually reached their goal of getting millions of people to come out, but we know the impact was still powerful either way.

READ MORE:

Obama On No Indictment In Eric Garner Case: “This Is An American Problem.”

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Eric Garner’s Family Seeks $75 Mil From NYC As Reports Find Chokehold Complaints Are Highest In A Decade

Thousands March In New York & D.C. Against Police Brutality  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com