Chants of “black lives matter” rang through downtown Syracuse on Monday as hundreds gathered to protest and march against police brutality.

Black Lives Matter Syracuse gathered at the Jerry Rescue Monument in Clinton Square on Monday at 4 p.m. to hold the march. Herve Comeau, one of the event’s organizers, said they expected a little more than 200 protesters to make the walk down South Franklin Street, past East Jefferson Street, up Montgomery Street, past East Washington Street and down South State Street, stopping at both the Federal Building and the Syracuse Police Department.

“It took a lot of heart, empathy and compassion to put this march together today and frankly a lot of pain,” Comeau said. “We want to talk about not violence within the black community but violence on the black community.”

Riley Bunch | Staff Photographer

The protest aimed at police and public safety officials sought “accountability and transparency.” In Syracuse, the recent death of Gary Porter and Chuniece Patterson’s death in 2009, both at the hands of law enforcement, have sparked controversy.

The march began just after 4 p.m. as organizers handed out water bottles to combat the heat.

“Hey hey, ho ho, these racists cops have got to go!” the participants chanted while marching near downtown Syracuse businesses, stopping pedestrians. Police cars positioned themselves in intersections awaiting the protesters.

At the steps of the Federal Building, protester Adrianna Cummings read an original poem titled, “As I passed out flyers,” which addressed discrimination against minorities.

“As a young person who has been discriminated against I jumped on the bandwagon to support this movement,” Cummings said. “Black Lives Matter is so important to the community.”

Despite the diverse demographics of the crowd, protesters were clear that this was not meant to be an “All Lives Matter” event.

Protester Vanessa Johnson discussed the controversy some Black Lives Matter supporters have when others say, “all lives matter.”

“If you just look at the words themselves, if black lives don’t matter, all lives don’t matter,” Johnson said. “It should mean everybody’s lives matter and if one group is being disproportionately killed by the police then something needs to be done.”

Riley Bunch | Staff Photographer

Comeau echoed that opinion of the “All Lives Matter” movement.

“All lives do matter but aren’t under the same type of threat,” Comeau said. “We are trying to protect the lives of those who are most vulnerable.”

As protesters neared their final destination, one man using a walker navigated through the protesters and criticized their movement.

“Go home! Racist, this movement is racist,” he said.

But the protesters continued on, unfazed by the words of passersby who didn’t support the movement.

As protesters congregated in front of the Syracuse police station before the demonstration ended at about 6 p.m., a song rang out: “I hear my brother saying I can’t breathe. Calling out the violence of these racist police. And we’re not going to stop until people are free.”

Published on July 18, 2016 at 7:53 pm