Millions March: Timelapse video shows sheer volume of protesters who took to New York's streets in demonstration against police violence

Droves of people marched in New York, Washington, Boston and Oakland marched with placards stating ‘Black lives matter’

People take part in a march against police violence, in New York, as part of the Millions march (Reuters)

A simple timelapse video taken from a building in New York has shown the sheer volume of people who took to the city’s streets as part of the Millions March to protest against the killings of unarmed black men by police officers in America.

The video shows the heavy flow of protesters from the beginning to the end of the march from a viewpoint overlooking 6th avenue and 29th street in Manhattan:

Thousands of demonstrators marched in Washington DC, New York, Oakland and Boston on Saturday as part of the Millions March, shouting “No justice! No peace! No racist police!” and “Hands up, don’t shoot!” while carrying placards stating: “Black lives matter”.

The marches are understood to be among the largest in the recent wave of protests against the deaths of black men at the hands of white police, most prominently Michal Brown and Eric Garner, which has brought global attention to the issues of race relations in the US.

Decisions by grand juries not to indict the police officers involved in the deaths of Brown and Garner sparked outrage among Americans and have put the police treatment of minorities back on the national agenda.

“We’re going to keep the light on Mike Brown, on all the victims. The only way you make roaches run is to keep the light on,” civil rights leader, the Rev. Al Sharpton, said. National Action Network, which Sharpton founded, organised the Washington rally.

Relatives of Brown, Garner, Akai Gurley, who was killed by New York police, and Trayvon Martin, who was killed by a Florida neighbourhood watchman two years ago, all appeared at the Washington protests.

The atmosphere at the marches have been described as calm and defiant, and appeared mainly peaceful, though police in Boston said they arrested 23 people who tried to block a highway.

In Oakland, California, officers detained 45 people for vandalism, failure to disperse, and resisting arrest among other charges, while one person was arrested in New York after two police officers were assaulted by protesters.

Additional reporting by Reuters News Agency