Nearly a hundred cities across the country joined in a National Moment of Silence Thursday night to honor 18-year-old Michael Brown and protest police brutality.
In downtown St. Louis, hundreds gathered near the Gateway Arch. As red armbands were passed around, organizers said they represented the message that "we are all cut from the same cloth."
When organizer Chloe Ward took the megaphone, she said she’s afraid to raise a black son.
“Our children are being gunned down. We are being gunned down by those who are paid by our tax dollars to protect and serve. Who are they protecting, and who are they serving?” Ward said.
After speeches and a moment of silence in the park, protestors marched along sidewalks to Busch Stadium. Some knelt with their hands in the air, chanting a familiar slogan in the days since Brown’s death: “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
National Moment of Silence participants also took to Twitter, using the hashtag #nmos14 to share scenes from cities across the country.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police conducted traffic on foot and with bicycles, and demonstrators dispersed peacefully around 10 o’clock.
Tina Brown attended the rally with her two children, aged 14 and 9. Five days ago, her family was forced to run from the vigil in Ferguson as the protest became violent. She said her sister and niece hid from rioters in a convenience store freezer.
“Thank God this is peaceful,” Brown said. “Tonight is great and I’m glad we came.”
