Thousands march against police violence across U.S.
ATLANTA -- Several thousand demonstrators flooded the streets of downtown Atlanta on Friday to protest the recent deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police.
Marchers brought traffic to a standstill downtown after gathering at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights near Centennial Olympic Park. Drivers in cars honked their horns as protesters holding signs and chanting "Hands up, don't shoot" streamed beside them.
Protesters eventually moved on to the Atlanta Connector, where two major highways intersect, according to CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL. Law enforcement had blocked protesters from the highway up until that point in the evening.
The city's mayor, Kasim Reed, earlier had criticized protesters' decision to block traffic on the highway.
"If you enter the highway, you endanger your own life, the lives of innocent motorists & the lives of our officers. We are better than that," Mayor Reed tweeted.
Johnathan McKenley, 22, told WGCL that it was fear for his own life that brought him to the protests.
"The fact that it could be me, the fact that it could be my brother, my dad, my uncle," he said.
Francys Johnson, the state president of the NAACP, led the rally, which was organized by his organization and Black Lives Matter. He stood on the front line, arms locked with other protesters including radio personality Frank Ski.
"We're in critical times of our country," Johnson said. "We are in a defining moment. We have experienced bloody conflict the past couple days. This march is to eradicate racism."
Before the march, Ski urged young people in attendance to learn their history and vote in elections. He said more need to make their voices heard about gun control at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
"We have to vote to make change," he said. "It starts there."
Nidal Kram, 26, who is from Sudan, held up a sign that read, "I left one war zone to come to another." She felt compelled to attend the demonstration in an effort to have her voice heard.
"It's still a struggle," said Kram, who's lived in Atlanta for 16 years. "I have a fear for myself. I want to one day have children in America, but I have fear of bringing them into a world filled with so many injustices to black people. I'm scared. I hope marches like this are a starting point to make a change."
Atlanta police Chief George Turner and Reed said earlier in the day that people have the right to protest this weekend but urged them to cooperate with law enforcement. Images from local news helicopters showed a peaceful march. As of 10 p.m., there were zero arrests in the Atlanta protests, according to WGCL.
The police chief said his officers are being told to stay "vigilant and professional" after the Dallas shooting that killed five officers and wounded seven others.
A gunman shot the Dallas officers and two civilians during a peaceful protest Thursday night, authorities said. The protests erupted over the recent shootings of black men by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.
Reed said Americans are naturally frustrated at the constant cycle of black deaths at the hands of police.
"What's not really happening to my great disappointment in the United States of America right now is after these incidents are videotaped and in many instances after the judicial process has completed, there seems to be a cheapening of the life of black people in that folks are walking away from incidents that I am stunned that they've walked away from," he said, according to WGCL.
Beyond Atlanta, demonstrators marched across the country -- from the cities of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, where Alton Sterling and Philando Castile respectively lost their lives, to Little Rock, Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Washington, D.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Denver, Colorado.
In Baton Rouge, protesters temporarily shut down part of Airline Highway with shouts of "No justice, no peace." A local gas station distributed free water to demonstrators, CBS Baton Rouge affiliate WAFB reported. One protester threw a bottle at police officers as they retreated from the scene, WAFB reported.
In Chicago, Black Lives Matter protesters played dead outside President Obama's residence to demand the president do more to address police brutality.
In a separate demonstration, the reverend and activist Michael Pfleger marched alongside entertainer Nick Cannon and approximately 100 protesters through Chicago's violence-plagued Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.
"It's very apparent that we're all in pain and we're frustrated," Cannon said.
In San Francisco, hundreds marched down Market Street to City Hall in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, according to CBS San Francisco affiliate KPIX.
The protests against police brutality even spilled over across the Atlantic. On Friday, hundreds took part in a Black Lives Matter protest in central London.