Protesters march in North Hills, downtown Raleigh to end racism, police violence

Saturday evening, a group of protesters was blocking traffic on Six Forks Road in the North Hills neighborhood. Raleigh police were also in the area and were stopping traffic from at least a block away. The protesters were on the move, marching through different streets, blocking traffic while chanting in a peaceful manner.

Earlier in the day, dozens of people filled Moore Square for a rally, part of a number of events held Saturday by NC BORN, or Building Our Revolution Now. The mood was a somber one at Moore Square as they as they mourned those killed by police and also pushed for change.

On the edge of Moore Square, protesters were set up for an Art Walk, which featured paintings of people they said killed by Raleigh police.

Protesters said they want justice for them.

"We’re tired of seeing people being killed, murdered in the street, who are supposed to protect us," said Miya Bryant, who lives in southeast Raleigh.

"I just have never really been a part of anything like this. In the world that we live in, especially in America, if white people don’t care about it, then it really just doesn’t get people’s attention. So being able to come out here with people of all races and ethnicities really makes a difference."

"I’ve been an activist since the Vietnam War, and this is really the biggest social movement I’ve seen in this country since the war," said Patrick O’Neill, who lives in Garner. "It’s finally occurring to the masses, especially to white people, that we have a legacy that we have to address and that we haven’t addressed."

The movement, they feel, is just getting started.

"We’re not just going to forget," Bryant said. "We’re not going to stop caring. We care about this, and we’re going to keep fighting for it.

"I’m flabbergasted and overjoyed by it," O'Neill said. "I think things are really changing in the South."

At an organizational level, NC BORN said they will not stop until police brutality ends and until all forms of oppression end.