BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now!"
That was the rallying cry of more than 60 people who gathered in Kelly Ingram Park on their lunch break Tuesday. The protestors called for justice for Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson in August. In the wake of violence in Ferguson following a grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson, the demonstrators urged non-violence.
"We demand justice, we demand it today," the Rev. Herman Henderson said, as others yelled "Right now!" in response to each line. "We demand justice, we demand it tomorrow. We demand justice, and we demand it now. We're not going to burn our own buildings down, we're not going to burn down our communities."
Harry 'Traveling Shoes' Turner told the crowd that Wilson was recently married. "Michael Brown was not able to congratulate him because Darren Wilson murdered him," Turner said. But he also called for non-violence.
"We will say to you today all over these United States - as your hearts are broken like our hearts, or you are saddened like we are today - we are asking for the violence and the destructiveness to stop," Turner said. "Put down your firebombs, stop the turning over of cars, stop the destruction of property. We don't want to see anyone else's life lost."
"Do not touch property. Do not touch people. But let your voice be heard," Turner said.
Former Mayoral candidate Pat Bell said she is working with the NAACP and the National Action Network to bring Birmingham to Ferguson.
"We don't want Michael Brown's death to be in vain," Bell said. "That's another generation that we must save."
Shirley Ferrill, who described herself as an activist, told the crowd that they cannot rest.
"I watched TV last night, I was online, on the web, my heart breaking," Ferrill said. "We who believe in the freedom - I don't care what color you are, what your ethnicity, your religious belief - we who believe in freedom cannot rest."
She said the U.S. kills others around the world "in the name of freedom and democracy, and what in the world are we doing here in this country?"
"We who call ourselves the angels of democracy and freedom continue to allow these situations," Ferrill said. "We are all guilty. We are as guilty as Darren Wilson if we do not fight against this kind of behavior. It's nationwide, it's not just Ferguson, it's not just Cleveland, it's not just Chicago, it's nationwide."
Pat Bell led the crowd in singing several protest songs, including "We Shall Overcome." Prayer interspersed the nearly hour-long protest. After the first 30 minutes, Henderson marched the crowd a blown down the street to the Hugo L. Black U.S. Courthouse, where security guards asked the demonstrators to stay off the steps, and on the sidewalk. After a prayer at the courthouse, the group moved back to the south end of Kelly Ingram Park.
Henderson encouraged onlookers to "make a convenant" to live better due to Darren Wilson.
"Because of Darren Wilson, we're going to change the way we do business," Henderson said. "Because of Darren Wilson, we're not going to drink out of the water of hatred. Because of Darren Wilson, we're not going to drink out of the water of bitterness. Because of Darren Wilson, we're not going to turn on each other, we're going to turn to each other."