49°
"Love and support our brothers and sisters. Don't hate." Djenaba Palmer, 18, of Hackensack told fellow protesters after the march.
"No justice, no peace, no racist police," some chanted along the route, which began and ended at the Bergen County Courthouse.
"You don't see this done in towns like this," said Robert Harris, 19, a Hackensack native who organized the demonstration of black, white and Hispanic marchers.
Bergen County Sheriff's Chief Kevin Pell and Undersheriff Joseph Hornyak met with the group on the courthouse steps before the march.
Sheriff's Warden Christopher Davies and Capt. Brian Boyce brought them water.
Also attending was Bergen County NAACP Chapter President Anthony Cureton, a law enforcement veteran who works in the sheriff's office.
Meanwhile, a squad of local and county officers remained stationed out of sight.
"It's nice to see so many young people here. to see the passion that ignites a fire inside you," Wildany Guerrero, 19, of Hackensack told the gathering.
"It's cliche, but knowledge is power-- knowledge of your rights as a citizen," Guerrero said. "Without that knowledge I am worthless, I am powerless.
"We don't want to fear those that protect us."
Harris, a Rutgers University criminal justice major who now lives in Fairview, organized the demonstration through social media.
"I'm tired of everything going on," he told Daily Voice. "I wanted to get out, get our voices -- African-American voices -- heard. Hackensack is the center of Bergen County. I thought it was a good place to start."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates.
