At the National Action Network's Headquarters, Click on picture to view movie	Police have trouble keeping up with the Protesters. Click on picture to view movie

ANGER AND OUTRAGE

These were just some of the feelings expressed today at a rally that turned into a march protesting the "not guilty" verdict in the murder trial of Amadou Diallo yesterday. Over five thousand people gathered at the Plaza Hotel on 59th and 5th Avenue and began marching down 5th Avenue until they were stopped by a wall of riot gear wearing policemen at 42nd St. and 6th Avenue.

Tempers soared and voices raised chanting, "Hey, ho! Racists cops have got to go." And "This is a wallet not a gun." The police stood solid doing their best to keep the situation under control. However, the very sight of cops drove some people out of control and they could not hold back their anger and a great deal of people were arrested.

Alfred Lance a student at Columbia University said that the outcome was expected in lieu of the Rodney King trial in California during the early 90s. It was expected that this pattern of injustice would continue. It shows how much they (the cops) value life. Author Carol Taylor who has been an activist for many years, expressed her anger saying, "If you want my honest opinion as a grandmother of a black grandson and granddaughter some of these "misfits in blue" need to be taken out, and in a week, the murdering of our children would end.

As the people were chanting "Whose streets? Our streets," Ryan Richard, a culinary student in Manhattan said that he was angry at how they moved the trial to Albany. "The people there do not understand the ongoing, long term problems of the New York Police Department and the citizens they are to protect, not kill. The rallying cries sounded like a lot of people wanted to change the police system with some wanting to change the whole government.

When asked what should be done after yesterday's verdict, Alice Stutter, a nurse, suggested that there should be community policing where the cops have to reside in the neighborhoods they police. When I asked some of the marchers if they believe all cops are responsible, Jay from Queens said, "They are, because even if they aren't out there killing like some cops, they know about it and do not speak out against it.

" Indeed it does seem that cops are under a code of silence they wouldn't talk to me today. I asked one African American officer what he thought of the verdict and his response was, "Come talk to me when I am not in uniform," as if being in uniform meant that he could not open up and express what needed to be said.

When the marchers got to 42nd and 6th Avenue, police stopped the crowed and told them to stay back. They did not seem to care whether or not you were a person who was not a part of the march and just wanted to get by. When the question of whether or not they were allowed to do that, one policeman replied "My supervisor said not to let anyone by." But even when they were stopped and not allowed to go any further the people yelled louder in protests.

It was clear that this was only the beginning of many future protests.