Calls for justice echo again on National Mall

WASHINGTON - Thousands of black men, women and children gathered on the National Mall on Saturday to demand justice at a time of growing anger and fraying tensions in African American communities over the killings of young black men by police.

By noon Saturday, the crowds had swelled just beyond the stage at the west front of the Capitol, with onlookers watching on several jumbo screens. Some people sat on lawn chairs and others on blankets to listen to the speakers, including Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, which sponsored the "Justice or Else" rally.

The event marked the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March in 1995, when hundreds of thousands of black men rallied on the Mall in a powerful protest. Although Saturday's crowd was far smaller, the spirit of the first movement was echoed by those who addressed the audience.

But the speakers also pointedly tied the struggle of the black community to modern-day incidents. Tamika Mallory, a national organizer of the rally, recited a list of young black men who have been killed by police in recent years, including Tamir Rice of Cleveland, Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner of Staten Island, N.Y.

"Twenty years ago, the death of Tamir Rice would have fallen on deaf ears and been left for the police to write a false report, not broadcast for the world to know," Mallory told the crowd. "Michael Brown's body would have only traumatized the community, rather than wake up the people.

"America, we can't breathe," Mallory said, echoing the phrase that Garner uttered while being held in a chokehold by police in July 2014 and that has been appropriated by the civil-rights movement.

The peaceful rally was a reminder that seven years after the election of the nation's first black president, enormous frustration remains among segments of the African American community.

President Obama, who has spoken out about gun violence and the mistrust between police and the black community, was attending party fund-raisers in California on Saturday. His administration has sought to balance a call for reforms among the tactics of local law enforcement agencies with support for police departments to help integrate them more fully into their communities.

The only images of him and first lady Michelle Obama at the rally were on tote bags being sold by vendors.

The mothers of Sandra Bland - a black woman found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas, in July after an altercation with a police officer - and Trayvon Martin - a black teenager fatally shot by a community watch volunteer in 2012 - appeared together onstage with relatives of other shooting victims.

Farrakhan, who had organized the 1995 rally, delivered a rambling address that challenged listeners to work at self-improvement and pledge their faith in God. But he also criticized the federal government for failing to protect and provide for the public, especially the underclass.