Protesters chanted “no justice, no peace” with fists raised on Monday, interrupting a speech in Atlanta by Attorney General Eric Holder who was announcing his plan “to help end racial profiling, once and for all.”
Mr. Holder spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church in a town hall meeting called The Community Speaks, when about a dozen demonstrators stood up chanting, “We have nothing to lose but our chains,” “No justice, no peace,” and “Eric Holder, do your job.”
They walked with their right fists in the air as they were escorted out of the service, receiving applause and ovations from the other audience members.
“There will be a tendency on the part of some to condemn what we just saw, but we should not,” Mr. Holder said after the crowd calmed.
“What we saw there was a genuine expression of concern and involvement. And it is through that level of involvement, that level of concern and I hope a level of perseverance and commitment, that change ultimately will come. And so let me be clear, let me be clear, I ain’t mad atcha, all right?” he said, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, CNN reported.
Mr. Holder said that “in the coming days” he plans to announce “rigorous new standards” for federal law enforcement to stamp out racial profiling.
He was in Atlanta as part of a series of nationwide conversations following the racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, CNN reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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