Millions March NYC, Seen Through The Lens Of A 17-Year-Old

This past Saturday, tens of thousands gathered in downtown New York City for what would culminate as the single largest, organized gathering since post-Ferguson events surrounding Michael Brown and the grand jury decision to not indict the police officer who killed Eric Garner.

"Millions March NYC" started in Washington Square Park, wound uptown via Fifth Avenue, then eventually found its way to lower Manhattan's NYPD headquarters. In D.C., there was a similar protest, "Justice for All," organized by civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton.

One participant, 17-year-old Lula Hyers, documented the entire NYC event for Opening Ceremony. She began shooting at around 2 PM in the afternoon and didn't give her camera a pause until the early evening. A senior in high school, the New Yorker told us that "it's important to be a part of these protests, because this is a modern-day civil and humans rights movement—young people coming together and fighting for a world they want to grow up in and raise their kids in."

For those of you who followed #millionsmarchnyc on social media, the hashtag has garnered an impressive 27K mark of traction on Instagram alone, including this real-time post for @openingceremony. (There were also some amusing interactions between protestors and SantaCon rabble rousers that would inevitably collide on busy city streets, something music critic Sasha Frere-Jones would poke fun of on Twitter.)

Check out the slideshow above for Lula's pictures from the day. Commenting on what she's seen so far, she says, "I've never been more proud to be a part of today's youth." Despite the context of tragic events, we would agree.