Al Sharpton, families of killed black men lead ‘Justice for All’ march in Washington

The “Justice for All” march to Capitol Hill comes after grand juries chose not to indict police officers in the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in Staten Island. Those episodes have served as a rallying cry for those pushing for a major overhaul in local policing procedures.

“We need national legislation and intervention to save us from state grand juries that say it’s alright to choke people even on tape,” Sharpton said.

“We’re not anti-police, but we’re anti-brutality,” he added.

Roughly 10,000 protesters gathered for the demonstration in Washington, including Brown’s and Garner’s family members and relatives of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and Cleveland’s Tamir Rice, both killed in cases that sparked widespread protest.

Sharpton’s National Action Network organized the Washington event. The civil rights leader turned television host has remained in constant contact with the White House about Obama administration efforts to address the racially charged controversies.

President Obama has called for heightened oversight of the militarization of local police departments and more funding for body cameras for cops. And Attorney General Eric Holder has released new guidelines on racial profiling, saying federal agencies also cannot target people based on their gender, religion or sexual orientation.

However, protesters contend that Washington isn’t doing enough to force police departments to alter how they detain minorities suspected of crimes.

“Saturday’s march is just the beginning,” said NAACP DC Criminal Justice Chair Erin Johnson, who called for “police accountability” and “sound community policing standards that combat racial profiling.”

Demonstrations are being held in New York City, San Francisco and Boston, among other major American cities.

And Sharpton insisted the rallies would continue until Congress acted.

“We will be back,” he said, “over and over again.”