A diversity recruiter can look to the protests on Saturday, December 13 to see the face of young America. People, mostly young, of all races and backgrounds, gathered in New York in Washington Square, Union Square and Madison Square to protest the grand jury decisions in the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases.
And they raised their voices and their signs about the way the police pigeonhole young black men in America.
After rallying in the squares, demonstrators marched down Broadway to One Police Plaza, snarling traffic and creating long delays for motorists.
The protests contrasted sharply with the Santa Con pub crawl in New York City where groups of mostly white twenty-somethings, dressed in Santa costumes and reindeer antlers, moved from bar to bar.
The protests became nasty when two police lieutenants tried to stop a man from throwing a garbage can from a walkway on the Brooklyn Bridge. People in the crowd jumped, punched the two officers, threw them to the ground and kicked them. One of the lieutenants suffered a broken nose and both were taken to a hospital. Deputy Director for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said those involved were part of a “…small clique…” that sought to provoke trouble and “deliberately seeks out violence and disorder.”
Another incident marred the protests. A small group of protestors near Madison and 28th Street surrounded traffic agents in their car and smashed windows.
But the overall protest was peaceful, and you can disapprove of the violence and also understand why so many came out to march when you read what young people of color say about their place in society and their disappointment about race relations in America.
Young people speak out about the Eric Garner verdict 1
Young people speak out about the Eric Garner verdict 2
Young people speak out about the Eric Garner verdict 3
