BOSTON (WHDH) - Hundreds of people gathered in Roxbury to march in solidarity with others in Kenosha, Wisconsin protesting police violence in after an officer shot Jacob Blake seven times last week.
‘We can’t have people shot down with impunity time and time again,” said organizer Joe Tache. “We need to see some basic accountability, otherwise it shows just how little this country values Black people and working-class people in general.”
The rally started in Nubian Square with speakers calling for justice for Blake and an end to police violence and racial injustice. Protesters then marched several miles to Franklin Park, chanting and holding signs.
“We feel the need to continue to occupy the streets and let people know what’s going on,” said marcher Phoenix Printemps.
“People should not be getting killed for being people in the street,” said Deyna Francisco.
Lawrence Darden and his family briefly joined the march as it passed by their home.
“I love it … because it’s time, it was time when I was a little kid” Darden said. “It can’t be business as usual anymore, it just can’t.”
“I don’t feel like police are trying to protect us, I think they’re trying to protect white people,” said Darden’s grandaughter Soliyah. “And I think that Black lives matter.”
At Franklin Park, drummers played while protesters continued to speak throughout the night.
“Everything from the drums … to the elders, it’s so beautiful,” Printemps said.
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