http://youtu.be/oeCKn2eyH8g

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25, a grassroots organization called Black Lives Matter led a planned protest in Boston to bring justice to and awareness of police brutality. It was held on the day after the grand jury officially decided to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown. Over 40 Brookline students attended. According to the Boston Globe, approximately 1400 people were there in all.

The protest began in Dudley Square, in front of the police headquarters, and made its way onto the Massachusetts Avenue connector near Interstate 93, which the police partially shut down in response. Before the marching began, there were four and a half minutes of silence, to acknowledge the four and a half hours Brown’s body laid on the street, and a candle lighting to pay respect to other black and brown people that have lost their lives to police brutality.

During the march, the speakers led the protesters through such chants as “Black Lives Matter,” “No justice, no peace. No racist police” and “Back up, back up. We want freedom, freedom. All these racist ass cops, we don’t need ‘em, need ‘em.”

The marchers made their way to the outside of the South Bay House of Corrections to show respect and support to the prisoners. Many of the prisoners, convicted of crimes with a sentence of two and a half years or fewer, came to the window. Some held up their hands, in solidarity with the cause. One person used tape to spell “Mike Brown” on the window.

The police created a barricade, preventing the protest from continuing onto the highway. This resulted in a sit in. People who tried to cross the line were arrested; however, the protest remained mostly peaceful.

Video by Sofia Tong. Article by Hannah Lowenstein and Maya Margolis.

Sofia Tong, Hannah Lowenstein and Maya Margolis can be contacted at [email protected]