Protesters demonstrates outside the White House after the announcement of the grand jury's decision. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Protesters mobilized in the streets of Washington on Monday night after learning that there would be no indictment on state charges of the Ferguson, Mo., police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in August.
Their numbers appeared modest, but their fervor and feeling were evident in speeches, chants and songs.
Some had listened to speakers elsewhere, then had begun marching toward the White House to further protest a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict the white police officer in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s not surprising,” said one community activist who was in a group heading down 16th Street NW.
The activist, Eugene Puryear, remarked, “I’ve think we’ve seen a culture of impunity around this country.” He said it seemed as if the legal process was broken, so that “all you can do is protest.”
Protestors observe a moment of silence as they gather in front of the White House in Washington. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) By 11:30 p.m., what appeared to be a total of about 400 to 600 people had assembled at the White House, for more speeches and slogans. The words of the hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” were heard.
The group was composed of those who had marched blocks to get there, and those who had gone there directly, possibly drawn by President Obama’s televised speech.
The president had said that while some agreed with the grand jury’s decision, it was understandable that some were “deeply disappointed, even angry.” But he said, he joined with Brown’s parents in calling on anyone who protested to do so peacefully.
One White House protester, Andrea Zamudio, told a reporter that “white people are always given the benefit of the doubt . . . black people . . . are criminalized.”
As of late Monday night, the demonstrations appeared to bear out Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s prediction in a television interview. Speaking on NewsChannel8 shortly after the grand jury’s decision was announced, Gray (D) said he “would be very surprised if there was any acting-out behavior here in the District of Columbia.”
But in one instance, members of a group of demonstrators were heard shouting expletives at police officers as they walked along U Street NW.
Before protesters marched down 16th Street to the White House, one of the places they gathered was at the African American Civil War Memorial at 10th and U streets near the Metro stop in the Shaw neighborhood.
For a time, they stood there in a circle, as protest organizers passed around a bullhorn.
“I hope no one is surprised by this,” one speaker said of the grand jury decision, “but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be upset.”
Some protesters held their hands in the air and chanted, “Hands up. Don’t shoot,” a slogan that has been heard repeatedly during the protests that have continued since Brown was shot by officer Darren Wilson.
It has been asserted that Brown used that gesture and those words before being shot.
In addition to being voiced, the slogan was written on placards held by the Washington protesters as they marched on an unseasonably warm late November evening.
At the White House, one end of a large banner was held up by Jabriel Jones, 23.
He said he had not expected the officer to be indicted on a charge of murder.
But. he said, he was surprised that the grand jury did not charge the officer with any offense.
“I thought that was pretty bold that there was no charges at all,” he said. “That just sets a precedent that it really doesn’t matter. You can shoot someone.”
Clinton Yates and Robert Samuels contributed to this report.
