Hundreds protest police shootings with rally and march in Chicago

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - Protesters marched peacefully through Chicago in another day of demonstrations over police methods sparked by the fatal shooting of two black men by white officers in Minnesota and Louisiana.

What was different about Monday's rally is that it was organized by four Chicago teenagers who had never done anything like this before.

"We want this to remain as peaceful as possible so that our voices can be heard."

Sophia Byrd is a senior at Whitney Young.

"I think it shows that anybody can stand up for what they believe in and anyone can come out and make a difference and it doesn't matter how old you are,” she said.

"I was just really hurt by seeing all these videos on Twitter,” said protest organizer Maxine Wint.

Wint is a 16-year-old junior at Kenwood Academy. She says the videos of the police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana prompted her to organize the youth march, which spread quickly on social media.

"I started asking people on Twiter can you send this out, can you retweet this? So people became aware. Can you use your privelege to help other people?" Wint said.

After a two hour silent sit in at Millennium Park, about a thousand protesters marched through downtown Chicago with police leading the way and blocking traffic so the crowd could march down the middle of the street.

At several points, the group stopped and blocked major intersections before returning to Millennium Park and quietly dispersing.

Unlike several protests over the weekend, which ended in clashes with police and arrests, there was no trouble Monday night.

"It was incredible. No one got arrested. There was no violence. It was very peaceful. I think it will be very effective in shining a light on the issues and showing what black Chicago youth can do despite consistently being demonized,” said protest organizer Eva Lewis.

Organizers said many protesters put tape over their mouths to symbolize the way police brutality silences African Americans.

The demonstrations in Chicago in recent days have been relatively peaceful, though police scuffled with some protesters Saturday, resulting in 16 arrests.