{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://veasey.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/heres-what-happened-when-100-black-staffers-lawmakers-staged-capitol-hill", "Here's What Happened When 100 Black Staffers, Lawmakers Staged Capitol Hill Walkout", "2014-12-11", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Marc Veasey", "V000131", "veasey.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(WASHINGTON) \u2014 Over 100 black congressional staffers and several black lawmakers staged a walkout at the Capitol Thursday afternoon, leading a silent protest on the steps of the Capitol over the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner on Staten Island, New York, both black men, at the hands of white police officers.\nReps. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Marc Veasey, D-Texas, were among the lawmakers participating in the walkout. Senate Chaplain Barry Black led the group in prayer, saying they were working as a \u201cvoice for the voiceless.\u201d\n\u201cToday as people throughout the nation protest for justice in our lands, forgive us when we have failed to lift our voices for those who couldn\u2019t speak or breathe for themselves,\u201d Black said. \u201cMay we not forget that in our national history, injustice has often been maintained because good people failed to promptly act. Forgive oh God, our culpability in contributing to our national pathology as you keep us aware of our own capacity to be instruments of injustice.\u201d\nAfter the prayer, the group stood on the steps of the Capitol, raising their hands in a gesture that has become symbolic of the Ferguson refrain \u2013- hands up, don\u2019t shoot.\n\u00a0\n100+ black congressional staffers, several lawmakers stage walkout at US Capitol to protest Garner, Brown cases. pic.twitter.com/WKghW7dveR\n\u2014 ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2014\n\u00a0\nDozens of staffers gather on Capitol steps to protest police brutality #BlackLivesMatter #AllLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/R6OaNT3ZDe\n\u2014 THE CBC (@OfficialCBC) December 11, 2014", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://veasey.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/heres-what-happened-when-100-black-staffers-lawmakers-staged-capitol-hill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7196420338004827, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}