More than 100 protesters wound through Copley Square shopping district on Black Friday, urging consumers to care more about justice and less about gifts.
The midday march proceeded along Boylston and Newbury streets on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Protesters hoisted signs reading, “Black Lives Matter,” and “No Justice, No Peace.”
The marchers said events this week in Ferguson, Mo., inspired them to organize the demonstration. On Monday, a grand jury decided not to indict a white Ferguson police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teen in August.
Friday’s rally was one of a number of such protests across the country, fueled by social media and the rallying cry #BlackoutBlackFriday.
Sarah Simpson, a 16-year-old high school student from Jamaica Plain, said she organized the Boston protest because she was stunned by the events in Missouri. After following the case since August, she said, she cried when the grand jury’s verdict was announced Monday.
“People are supporting injustice by buying things on Black Friday,” Simpson said, after the group boarded Green Line trolleys and headed for the CambridgeSide Galleria. “You are saying black lives don’t matter.”
The protesters, their ranks somewhat diminished, regrouped in the Galleria, as shoppers, many laden with gifts, looked bewildered by the chanting and signs.
“What do we want?” a group leader yelled through a bullhorn. “Justice!” the protesters shouted, as many shoppers pulled out their phones and snapped pictures.
Among those taking pictures was Paul Mallebranche, a 35-year-old Cambridge father, who said he was heartened by the protests, though he was uncertain how to explain them to his 4-year-old daughter, who was with him.
“It’s good that people are speaking their minds,” Mallebranche said. He was lugging a bag with gifts, and said he was not aware the protesters had urged people to boycott shopping on Black Friday.
Briana Mason, a 23-year-old Dorchester resident, said she joined the protest because she was upset so many people seemed unaware of how deeply racism runs in the United States.
“People seem to value Christmas shopping and presents over other people’s lives in this country,” Mason said.
A bevy of Cambridge police and mall security guards stood nearby as the protesters marched through three floors of the mall, but officers did not block the marchers’ access.
The rally landed in the first-floor food court, where protesters chanted and then silently stood and ringed the area. Some held signs while others thrust their hands up as if surrendering, an action that has come to symbolize the case of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who, supporters say, was trying to surrender to Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson when Wilson shot him.
Some shoppers in the food court stopped what they were doing and quietly raised their hands in support, including Paulo Fonseca, and his wife, Isabella Lamas, who moved from Brazil to Cambridge.
“We strongly support this movement,” Fonseca said quietly. “We are touched to be here now.”
Kay Lazar can be reached at Kay.Lazar@globe.com Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.