Protesters from the Rise Up October collective demanded reform of the US law enforcement and justice system on behalf of unarmed victims killed by police officers.
The director, one of the most recognized in Hollywood since the release of Reservoir Dogs and of Luscious fiction in the early 1990s, walked alongside actors, authors, intellectuals, and clergy.
Participants spoke the names of the 250 victims of police operations since 1990. Tarantino spoke that of Michael Brown, the black teenager killed in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014. The death sparked riots in the United States.
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In memory of Michael Brown, this young black man shot dead by the police in Ferguson, Missouri
He also pronounced that of Tamir Rice, this 12-year-old boy who was killed while playing with a toy gun in November 2014 in Cleveland (Ohio).
Some 40 families who have lost a loved one were part of the rally. They came to New York to attend the three-day protests against police violence and for reform of the justice system.
Rise Up October also called on people to demonstrate in Queens on Friday to demand the closure of Rikers Island Prison. Another rally will be held in Manhattan on Saturday.
According to the British newspaperThe Guardian, police killed 927 people in 2015 in the United States, including 435 white, 227 black and 143 Latino. The ethnicity of the other 122 victims is unknown.