Civil rights protests continue across US

Demonstrations against the police killings of African Americans continue for the fifth consecutive day across the United States, with pastors leading protests in Chicago.

Protests were held on Sunday in dozens of US cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Minneapolis and Chicago over controversial grand jury decisions in Missouri and New York not to indict white police officers in the deaths of black men.

In Chicago, religious leaders in several neighborhoods led community members in peaceful protests.

People from some 15 churches, including Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Catholic Church and Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church, led protesters into the streets stopping traffic as they marched, Chicago Tribune reported.

“The enemy might choke the breath out of our bodies but they cannot choke the breath out of our spirit,” Pfleger said during a morning service at St. Sabina.

“It is no coincidence to me that Michael Brown lifted his hands up because he understood what we know, when your hands are up its reaching to the strength and the power of who it is that holds us.”

Protesters sang religious hymns, chanted “Black life matters” and “Hands up, don’t shoot” and staged a “die-in” in the street.

“We’ve got to hold all law enforcement accountable just like we hold ourselves accountable,” Pastor Harris said after the march. “We can’t kill each other either, and we’ve got to make sure it’s more than just a black issue.”

White police officer Darren Wilson shot dead black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August and white officer Daniel Pantaleo killed Eric Garner in New York City in July.

Unlike the fatal shooting of Brown, the chokehold death of Garner, a father of six and grandfather of two, was recorded on videos that have been widely seen and have contributed to the public outrage. In the video, Garner repeatedly told police officers “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”

US police shoot and kill an average of 1,000 people a year, 1 in 4 of whom unarmed, according to a report by the Police Policy Studies Council.

Based on a recent study by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, 313 black people were killed in 2012 by police officers, private security guards and members of the public and in most cases, the perpetrator was not indicted.