Activists blocked the Boston area highway Thursday morning causing traffic as they rallied about the police and state violence against black people chaining themselves to the concrete-filled barrels of the said area.

The police officials of the state had to shut down northbound Interstate 93 located at the south of the city and the I-93 south in Medford located at the north of the city resulting to disrupting the morning commute rush.

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The southbound lanes were reopened at eight in the morning but the northbound lanes were opened two hours later. Police officials and firefighters had to use power saws in order to cut the protesters from the barrels they have attached themselves to while lying down in the said highways. The protester at the northbound lanes chained themselves together with the use of plastic pipes.

There were 29 of the protesters who were arrested and they were arraigned at two courthouses on the same day of charges such as trespassing, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and willfully obstructing an emergency vehicle. Out of the 29, there were 11 protesters who were released.

The protest was said to be intended to confront the systematic oppression of the black people and the white gratification in Boston.

There has been a statement released by one of the protesters identified as Katie Seitz and she said that their nonviolent direct action is meant to expose the reality that "Boston is a city where white commuters and students use the city and leave, while black and brown communities are targeted by police, exploited, and displaced".

The protest was said to have been fueled by the non-indictment of white police officers who were responsible for the death of black men in Ferguson, Missouri and in New York City. The protesters also released a list of more than a dozen people that they claim to have been killed by the law enforcement in the last 15 years. 

TagsActivists, protesters, Boston highway, violence against black people, white officers, arrest