More than 1,000 marchers rallied downtown in front of the CNN Center yesterday in protest of police brutality and in memory of teenager Michael Brown, who was killed earlier this month by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The demonstration, just the latest of many that have been held throughout the country, had the stated goal of wanting to stop police brutality and raise awareness of the lingering racial tensions that exist in many parts of the nation.
The march itself had a bit of a negative tone, with many holding signs with offensive messages directed towards law enforcement officers, and distasteful chants could be heard echoing alongside ones calling for justice. That being said, the rally was in every regard a peaceful one, with none of the tear gas, rubber bullets, or media censorship we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on the news from Missouri nearly every day. Readers may recall a similar rally last year during the Trayvon Martin incident, which like the Michael Brown case was met by nationwide shock but lacked the violence we’ve seen in Ferguson this summer.
The rally’s location in front of CNN was in part a protest of the network’s coverage of the incident, which many of the protesters feel has been slanted against Brown. Social media was abuzz during and after the march, with many questioning CNN for failing to report on the rally itself, despite its obvious proximity to the company’s Atlanta headquarters.
Atlanta, with a very similar demographic breakdown to St. Louis, (and nearby Ferguson) is an interesting case when it comes to its reaction to the events unfolding in Missouri. Just recently a toddler was critically injured by a flashbang in a police search gone awry, 
in a case which drew national attention. That story, while certainly eliciting a strong response from citizens, was not met by anything like we have seen unfold over the past two weeks in Ferguson. A testament to our own local police force for keeping things under control in a time where our very social fabric seems more flammable than ever.
