Scene: Toronto Rallies for Michael Brown
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Scene: Toronto Rallies for Michael Brown

Thousands gathered on Tuesday to protest police brutality in the wake of a U.S. grand jury decision not to charge the white Missouri police officer who shot and killed the black teen.

By • Photos by Giordano Ciampini

WHERE: University Avenue, near the U.S. consulate

WHEN: Tuesday, November 25

WHAT: A rally against police brutality spurred by the recent U.S. grand jury decision not to charge white police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. About 2,000 protestors showed up outside the U.S. Consulate building at 360 University Avenue on Tuesday evening, many chanting, “No justice, no peace, no racist police.” Others held signs bearing slogans such as “Black lives matter” and “Hands up, don’t shoot”—the latter a reference to the events of the Ferguson shooting, during which some witnesses allege (although accounts vary wildly) Brown raised his hands in surrender before he was killed.

Although the demonstration was ultimately a peaceful one, organizers sparked controversy before it began by requesting on the event’s official Facebook page that non-black attendees “refrain from taking up space,” “never be at the centre of anything,” and “refrain from speaking to the media.” Nevertheless, when, during the event, organizers asked non-black protestors to move to the back of the crowd, they did so without incident.

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