Atlanta Students, Activists Gather To Protest Ferguson Decision

A large group of young people walked from Morehouse College to downtown Atlanta in a peaceful march to protest a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri.

Activists plan to rally in downtown Atlanta in response to a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri.

Organizers say the "Community Speakout" is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Underground Atlanta, a shopping area in the heart of the city.

Thousands of people demonstrated late Monday in several U.S. cities to protest the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer who killed Michael Brown, who is black, on Aug. 9.

In reaction to the decision, Rev. Raphael Warnock of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church said the grand jury's decision sends a message to young African American men that their lives don't matter. Speaking with WSB–TV, Rev. Warnock criticized the district attorney in the case.

"As he stood to justify the decision of the grand jury, he was justifying his own decision," said Warnock. "Had this prosecutor wanted there to be an indictment, there would have been an indictment."

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in a statement that he urges everyone taking part in demonstrations to do so peacefully. Reed added that law enforcement officers must "show proper restraint and respect every citizen's constitutional right to assemble."

View Live Stream Of Atlanta Protest

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