'No justice, no peace!' Thousands march in Detroit 'Black Friday' rally amid heavy police presence
Officers asked to be 'more vigilant, stay alert' in wake of deadly Dallas shooting of 5 officers
Several Canadians joined thousands of Detroiters at a rally dubbed "Black Friday" to protest a spate of recent shooting deaths by police in the United States.
"I felt in my heart that I needed to be here," Shantelle Browning-Morgan, a Windsor native, told CBC News.
"I've been feeling frustrated at home in Canada not being able to help across the border when I see so much suffering and injustice going on. So I felt this was the best way for me to show support and stand in solidarity."
- Fear, division and race in America
- Baton Rouge police clash with Black Lives Matter protesters, dozens arrested
- Vancouver residents gather over U.S. gun violence, racial tension
Browning-Morgan said she was "impressed by the number of young people (at the rally), especially those who shared some of their personal stories, which were very moving.
"I was taken aback by the hope everyone has in spite of everything [that's] been going on," she said.
Emotions ran high at Campus Martius Park, where crowds gathered amid a heavy police presence before beginning their march chanting, "I'm fired up, I'm fed up!"
The number of protesters swelled into the thousands before they began marching through the city's streets.
'No justice, no peace!' Thousands march in downtown <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Detroit?src=hash">#Detroit</a> for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackFriday?src=hash">#BlackFriday</a> rally. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a href="https://t.co/dEakmvMNhp">pic.twitter.com/dEakmvMNhp</a>
—@AadelHaleemFriday's protest came just one day after five police officers were fatally shot in Dallas by a gunman believed to be 25-year-old U.S. army reservist Micah Xavier Johnson, who reportedly told police during a standoff that he "wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers." Johnson opened fire on a demonstration over two fatal shootings of black men by police this week in Baton Rouge, La., and St. Paul, Minn.
Ahead of the rally, Detroit police officer Nicole Kirkwood told CBC News that police planned to step up their presence with thousands expected to turn up.
"There is a heightened awareness. We are asking officers to be more vigilant, stay alert," Kirkwood said. "We are in a constant state of readiness."
"I'm fired up. I'm fed up." Large crowds in campus martius for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackFriday?src=hash">#BlackFriday</a> protest <a href="https://t.co/qSHKiyXDMp">pic.twitter.com/qSHKiyXDMp</a>
—@Allie_ElisabethBut Detroit police Chief James Craig said he welcomed those who intended to protest peacefully, saying the shootings in Dallas can't be attributed to the protesters who had been demonstrating without violence or incident when shots rang out Thursday.
Windsor resident and community activist, Irene Moore Davis, also attended the rally as a show of solidarity with her counterparts across the border.
- 'They're picking us off one by one'
- Officer who killed Minnesota man in front of woman and child identified
- Micah Xavier Johnson, Dallas police attack gunman, was army veteran
"It was really important for us to show solidarity with the people that are suffering in the African-American community, recognizing that all of us have to work out solutions," she said.
Lloyd Duesette, a Detroiter, told CBC he attended the rally because he got tired of expressing his frustration about police shootings on social media. He used FaceTime to talk to his brother – who is in an Arizona prison – during the rally so he could be part of the event.
"Me posting was not of (the solutions)," he said, adding that "being around people and sharing my thoughts and trying to figure something out" was important for him.