They were the first of the more than 1,200 people arrested protesting the murder of Amadou Diallo by NYPD officers. As one participant wrote, there had already been "protests, but no one was getting arrested and we wanted to raise the stakes. We wanted to block the Brooklyn Bridge, but we only had eight people who could risk arrest, so we said okay, we'll block the bridge with eight people. That's how desperate and angry and empowered we felt." Arrestees eventually included Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, former mayor David Dinkins, and actors Susan Sarandon, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and Dick Gregory.
