Thousands of peaceful protesters gathered on D.C. streets Thursday evening to remember Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager who was shot and killed by police in suburban St. Louis last weekend.
At 7 p.m. a moment of silence and vigil were held at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park in Northwest D.C., where nearly every protester carried a sign calling for an end to police brutality. The group chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot!"
"Lives of young black men matter and when they are unarmed and when they are interacting with police, they should not have to worry about whether they have a target on their back," one protester said.
A couple hours later, the protesters moved from the park to downtown D.C. and around 9 p.m. had set up another protest near the Verizon Center on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery.
Another rally was held at Howard University, where students held a prayer vigil for Brown. A Howard University alumna was shot Wednesday in Ferguson, where protests have consumed the small Missouri community since Brown's death Saturday.
