In solidarity with the “Black Lives Matter” movement—a series of nationwide demonstrations against police violence after the recent deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and other black men at the hands of white police officers—dozens of D.C. Council staffers walked out in protest this morning.

The walk out, which was organized by Dionne Calhoun, Councilmember David Grosso’s (I-At Large) Chief of Staff, featured nearly 50 Council staff members walking out on the steps of the Wilson Building holding up single-letter signs that spelled out “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

Among those who participated in the walk out was Marion Barry’s 34-year-old son, Christopher Barry, who told WNEW’s Matt DelSignore that he’s “strongly” leaning towards running for his father’s Ward 8 Council seat.

As Colhoun tells the Post, the walk out was conceived after Congress thwarted D.C.’s ballot initiative to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana; an initiative fueled by the significant racial disparity in drug-related arrests.

Filed Under: blacklivesmatter, d.c. council staff, eric garner, michael brown,