Over 100 people attended a “noise-in” Saturday in West Philadelphia in a show of solidarity for Mike Brown, Eric Garner and Renisha McBride.
The demonstration began around 3 p.m. at the Calvary Center on 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The marchers, made up mainly of parents and children, walked down Baltimore Avenue to Clark Park at 43rd and Chester streets.
The marchers called for justice for Brown, Garner as well as Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old black woman who was shot and killed by a homeowner in November, 2013 in Michigan after she knocked on the man’s windows and front door following a car crash. The homeowner, Theodore Wafer, told police the shooting was accidental and that he believed his home was being broken into after hearing the sound of loud banging. Some have claimed however McBride’s death was a result of racial profiling.
Wafer was convicted of second-degree murder on Aug. 7, 2014 and received a sentence of 17 to 32 years in prison.
Saturday’s protest included a “noise-in,” in which the marchers shook musical instruments and made as much noise as possible for 4.5 minutes, a demonstration the protest organizers claimed represented the 4.5 hours Michael Brown’s body lay on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri.
Event organizers also said the purpose of the march was to raise awareness against institutional racism, strengthen community relationships and connect in a commitment to racial justice.
“We see the way that racism affects our communities everyday whether it’s the way that police are treating young black people, whether it’s the way our schools are funded, whether it’s the gentrification in neighborhoods, we see racism everyday around us and we know that it affects all of in different ways” said Eric Braxton, one of the participants. “So we’re all coming together to say that racism has to end and that parents and children together stand against racism and for justice in our communities.
