Hundreds take streets in Durham to protest police brutality
_Police arrest 31, use sound cannon _
Durham, NC – About 500 people took to the streets of Durham on Dec. 5 to protest police brutality and the criminal injustice system. Hundreds gathered in Durham's downtown CCB Plaza and rallied for an hour, where mainly African American speakers relayed story after story of police abuse and racist discrimination.
After the rally, a powerful Black and Brown-led march kicked off from the square down to the city jail, where protesters formed a human bridge across multiple lanes of traffic, while several others held a die-in. Hundreds chanted, “No justice, no peace, no racist police!” Dozens of prisoners in the jail banged on windows in support of the protest.
The protest then marched down to the Durham freeway and blocked both directions of traffic for nearly an hour before returning back to the jail. Riot police and SWAT team were on hand. The Durham police tried to use an LRAD sound cannon in a failed attempt to disperse the protest.
After hours of marching, the police arrested 31 protesters. Despite the arrests and police repression, and the heartache felt by so many who have been directly affected by police brutality, the overall mood was one of anger, courage and willingness to struggle to get justice for Eric Garner, Mike Brown and all those who have been killed by racist cops.