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Rallies Held To Protest Michael Brown's Death

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- More than 1,000 people gathered for a second day of organized rallies to protest Michael Brown's death and other fatal police shootings in the St. Louis area and elsewhere that activists say are racially motivated.

Gigi Barnett has more.

A weekend of protests are underway in Ferguson, Missouri. The four-day event---called Ferguson October---are meant to bring attention back to the shooting death of Missouri teen Michael Brown.

Protesters in Ferguson are reorganizing, renewing their calls of justice for Brown.

Activists marched through downtown St. Louis Saturday, beginning a rally they describe as a "show of unity against police violence nationwide."

The march is just one event in a four-day series of protests that wrap up Monday.

Crowds gathered early Saturday as police in riot gear looked on.

Demonstrators set up a Day of the Dead altar---a Mexican Halloween tradition---to memorialize Brown, while men in dark suits carried a mirrored coffin through the streets.

But critics say the message is getting lost.

"They say they want justice for all, or no justice, no peace. They're basically saying no indictment, no peace," said radio talk show host McGraw Milhaven.

Brown was shot and killed August 9 by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Authorities claim Brown was shot after attacking Wilson and trying to take his gun, but witnesses say the teenager was unarmed with his hands in the air.

The shooting prompted weeks of sometimes-violent protests throughout the St. Louis suburb.

Officer Darren Wilson remains free and on administrative leave while a St. Louis County grand jury weighs whether he should face criminal charges.

A group of Baltimore activists called the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly---a local chapter of Southern Christian leadership---are in Ferguson this weekend for the protests.

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