By Eric Shapiro and the Flatiron Hot! News Editorial Staff

Yesterday, Americans across the nation marched in the 19th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. The protest, called #O22 (October 22nd), has special significance this year, taking place in the midst of still-raging controversy over the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson, whose fate remains an open question. Protesters began at Union Square, made their way through the Flatiron District and finally converged on the police station at Times Square. A throng of police officers followed along, weathering cries of “fuck the police” and “hands up, don’t shoot.”

Though their anger was palpable, marchers remained peaceful and respectful. A few participants flitted around the edges of the procession handing out flyers and engaging pedestrians, many of whom sympathized with their cause. The crowd reflected the cultural and racial diversity of New York City. African Americans, Latinos, Caucasians, Asians and more marched side by side to protest institutional racism and police brutality disproportionately perpetrated against minorities. LGBT, feminist and anti-war groups were also on hand. Marchers were animated by the conviction that the nation is in the midst of a new Jim Crow era, with voter suppression tactics and a criminal justice system that disproportionately deprives minorities of their freedoms recalling a dark period in American history.