Google Commemorates NYC's Silent Parade On 100th Anniversary

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — One-hundred years ago today, on July 28, 1917, nearly 10,000 black men, woman and children marched down Fifth Avenue in silence to protest racial violence in America. The march — one of the first mass-protests of anti-black violence in the country — is known as the Silent Parade.

Today Google decided to honor the 100th anniversary of the Silent Parade with a Google Doodle, which appears on the search engine's homepage.

"Today's Doodle commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Silent Parade, and honors those whose silence resonates a century later," Google said in a statement.

The Silent Parade was organized by James Weldon Johnson and W.E.B Du Bois, leaders of the NAACP, in response to the East St. Louis Riots of 1917. During the riots an estimated 40 to 250 black people were killed and thousands more were displaced, according to Google's statement.

Although the marchers walked down Fifth Avenue to Madison Square without speaking, they conveyed an anti-violence message with their actions and by holding signs. Signs held by marchers read: “Make America safe for democracy,” “We march because we deem it a crime to be silent in the face of such barbaric acts,” and “We march because we want our children to live in a better land," according to the NAACP.

Photo courtesy Google