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What it's like at today's March on Washington
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Activists have gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, today, the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington. Speakers are addressing the crowd now.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, who's at the event, said it's an emotional day for many of the protesters.
“It's been such an emotionally charged pre-program before the official program,” Malveaux reported. “People who have been crying, people who have expressed rage, but mostly just real frustration here. Some very passionate and personal stories about people who have lost their loved ones."
Today's event is dubbed the "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" Commitment March, a reference to the police killing of George Floyd, who died after
held down with police officer's knee as he protested that he couldn't breathe.
The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network began planning the march in partnership with the NAACP and others after he
announced the event during Floyd's funeral in June. But it comes during a week that has seen intensified called for social justice and police reform following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
Blake, a 29-year-old Black father, was shot by police on Sunday. His family says he is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Today's march comes during the coronavirus pandemic. Here's a look at the socially distanced protest:
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