Protests and Demonstrations in Various Cities Across the U.S.

On Saturday, December 22, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in various cities across the United States to protest the deaths of unarmed Black citizens due to police violence. Cities such as Washington, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Oakland witnessed the largest marches. CNN reported that Saturday's protests were mostly peaceful, but Massachusetts police arrested 23 individuals in Boston for 'disorderly conduct.' Reports indicate that families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and several others killed by police spoke at a large gathering in Washington. CNN and other U.S. news outlets reported that protesters are voicing their opposition to grand jury decisions in New York and Missouri that found two white police officers not guilty in the killings of two unarmed Black men in recent months. Eric Garner was a Black man who died on July 26 this year after a white New York police officer placed him in a chokehold during an arrest for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes. Before his death, Garner repeatedly shouted, 'I can't breathe.' His phrase and other slogans like 'Black Lives Matter' have now become central rallying cries for protesters across various U.S. cities. Protesters are also opposing the death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black teenager, who was killed on August 9 this year by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Missouri. Wilson was also found not guilty by a grand jury. Since then, various cities in the U.S. have seen marches, gatherings, and sometimes riots and clashes. U.S. police have been accused, including by the United Nations Committee Against Torture, of 'misconduct and excessive use of force and weapons, especially against members of racial and ethnic minorities.' In this context, the second night of protests in Berkeley, California, turned violent.