10 years later, activists reflect on Michael Brown’s death and how it changed Atlanta

Ten years ago on an August evening in Atlanta, thousands of people made their way downtown to the CNN Center.

Rain began pouring down as the sea of people began marching around Centennial Olympic Park. But they kept going, chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot!” and “I am Mike Brown!”

Over 5,000 people attended the peaceful protest, mostly young Black people. They were encouraged to come dressed in graduation gowns and formal attire — a nod to a widely circulated photo of Michael Brown wearing graduation regalia. Just over a week prior to the protest, Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri.