Thousands March against Violence in New Orleans
On January 11th thousands of people processed through downtown New Orleans to protest the recent killings. The group first met at City Hall and packed the plaza as well as the front building, many holding signs that denounced Mayor C. J. Ragin. The crowd was estimated amount to 5,000 people. This created a striking display of the 13 killings of the past week, including those of a popular musician and a well known film maker. All were able to survive and overcome Hurricane Katrina but were able to escape the penetrable violence.
There are many protests in which the current one may be compared to, however, there is one in particular that is able to accurately depict the tone of violence. This event is known as Tiananmen Square in which the actions of a lone protester on a bicycle were halted as he processed right up to the front of the military tanks. This shows the courage that the protesters in both events felt, the action of trying to desperately take steps toward reformation. The lone man on a bicycle must have felt that he was conquering all odds by riding up to the tanks. It is the drive from within and the element of danger and risk that filled the hearts of all the protesters that filled downtown New Orleans yesterday.