At the end of the march, Al passed around the collection plates.
Via NY Daily News
Thousands of peaceful demonstrators flooded Staten Island for a Saturday march protesting the chokehold death of a black man during his arrest last month by a white city cop.
The marchers, led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, gathered around the sidewalk where Eric Garner was brought down by the NYPD before descending on the offices of the Staten Island district attorney and the 120th Precinct.
The song “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” blared as the crowd reached the prosecutor’s office.
“We are not here to tear down,” said Sharpton. “We are here to build up … We are not against police, but those that break the law must be held accountable just like anybody else.”
The slain man’s sister wore a red T-shirt with her sibling’s picture on its front with the words “It stops today.”
Ellisha Flagg stood near a makeshift memorial of wreaths and flowers, her spirits buoyed by the large turnout.
I’m just overwhelmed,” said Flagg. “It’s sad that my brother can’t be here to see this, but I know he’s watching in spirit.”
Organizers predicted as many as 5,000 people would join in the march. The demonstrators chanted “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “I can’t breathe!” — Garner’s last words before he collapsed.
“RIP ERIC GARNER” was scrawled across the window of Against Da Grain, a barber shop where the dead man was a regular.
“This whole thing is a shame,” said barber Daniel Ewing, 44. “We need justice. We need to address this issue. Not all cops are bad, but those who abuse power need to be held accountable.”
Sharpton and about 200 others gathered before the demonstration in the Mount Sinai United Christian Church, where other members of Garner’s family arrived in matching red shirts. […]
Mariah Lopez, head of a transgender advocacy group, was among those boarding the early morning buses.
“I could have stayed in bed and then I thought to myself, ‘I can get up, I can go march, I have the choice,’” said Lopez. “Eric Garner can’t. He doesn’t have that choice.”