USA-MISSOURI/SHOOTING-NY PROTEST ARRESTS Protesters call for Blackout Black Friday, two arrested

Record ID: 324128

  • Title: USA-MISSOURI/SHOOTING-NY PROTEST ARRESTS Protesters call for Blackout Black Friday, two arrested
  • Date: 28th November 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 28, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AT HERALD SQUARE NEW YORK CITY POLICE SAYING PROTESTERS MUST USE THE SIDEWALKS INSTEAD OF THE STREET OR BE SUBJECT TO ARREST VARIOUS OF TWO ARRESTED PEOPLE BEING LED TO NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT VANS VARIOUS OF POLICE ACTIVITY PROTESTER JOEL THOMAS HOLDING SIGNS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRO
  • Embargoed: 13th December 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA70JMF18NM8LPWIKFJFPQD6NW1
  • Story Text: More than 100 protesters gathered in front of Macy's flagship store in New York City on Friday (November 28) to show their anger about a grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri not to indict a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teen.
    Holding signs and chanting "Hands up, don't shop," protesters urged shoppers not to spend money on what is known as the busiest shopping day of the year.
    As the day wore on, New York City police warned protesters to stay on the sidewalk and not interfere with vehicular traffic in the street or they would face arrest. At least two people were arrested for blocking traffic.
    Ferguson, Missouri, became a flashpoint for often troubled U.S. race relations after officer Darren Wilson shot dead Michael Brown on August 9. The U.S. Justice Department is probing possible civil rights abuses, and U.S. President Barack Obama has called for reflection on the difficulties minorities face in the country.
    "If you want change, come out," said protester Joel Thomas.
    "Come out. If you want change, come out. Don't stay at home watching us on the TV screens. Come out and protest so we can stop this once and for all."
    The grand jury's decision on Monday not to charge Wilson prompted a spasm of fury in Ferguson and throughout the nation.
    "August 1955 Emmett Till, he got shot, Trayvon Martin got shot, Troy Davis, he gets killed for nothing," said Jerome Nathaniel, who journeyed seven hours from Rochester, New York, to be at Friday's protest.
    "But when somebody kills us for nothing, nothing happens. That's why we're out here today. We're out here today because it's Black Friday. I want every tourist to hear us, I want every native to hear us, I want everyone to know that we're upset and we're responding to a war that was declared on us in 1955. We're finally answering because we've been quiet for too long."
    Protester Chloe Kekovic said that she wanted people to be aware that "every 28 hours a black life is lost to a police officer" and youth task force coordinator Jazmine Outlaw said that she didn't want to feed into "corporate systems that continue to oppress us."
    Targeting Black Friday sales at major retailers is a new tactic for some protesters, following days of sometimes violent demonstrations after the grand jury's decision was announced on Monday.
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