Members of Congress, staffers and other Capitol employees stood silently on the House steps Thursday and raised their hands in the air to protest the killing of unarmed Black men by police. They bowed their heads as Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black prayed, "Forgive us when we have failed to lift our voices for those who couldn't speak or breathe for themselves" — emphasizing "breathe" in reference to Eric Garner, who died after a policeman grabbed him in a chokehold in New York.

"May we not forget that in our history injustice has often been maintained because good people failed to promptly act," Black said, with well over 100 people standing behind him. The demonstration was organized by the Congressional Black Associates and other groups representing minority employees of Congress to show support for protests around the country following the killing of Garner and 18-year-old Michael Brown, whose death in Ferguson, Missouri, inspired the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture.