Community leaders and activists gathered at the steps of the Massachusetts State House to mark the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington by demanding local action to right historic injustices and inequities, and to end the killing of people of color by law enforcement.

Organized by Brothers Building, a self-described Black self-empowerment group based in Dorchester, the rally’s speakers focused largely on an agenda of action at the state level, including demanding action on several bills currently making their way through the state legislature.

James Mackey, a leader of Brothers Building, spoke to the uncertain future he sees for his children.

“As a black man in this Commonwealth, as a father to a beautiful 8 year old son, a beautiful 7 year old daughter,” Mackey said. “I’ll be damned if I continue to live knowing that when my children grow up they’ll have to live through these same oppressive structures.”

Boston NAACP President Tanisha Sullivan invoked the recent killings at the hands of law enforcement of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake.

The deaths, Sullivan said, serve as “a reminder that we can be shot with bullets, treated like hunted animals.”

“But we are a people who will fight until our last breath and in our living will continue to stand as a reminder of how imperfect our union continues to be,” Sullivan said.

Segun Idowu, president of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, spoke about his group’s agenda of economic empowerment for residents of color, as well as the need to reform and reduce the scale of state and local law enforcement.

“We’re demanding that least ten percent of state contracts be set aside for Black, Brown and indigenous communities,” Idowu said. “We’re demanding the creation of a public bank that we own to invest in our communities and purchase land.”

“And we’re demanding the reduction of the state police budget and we’re demanding the passage of police reform … that everyone in our community has been pushing for, including the elimination of qualified immunity” for police officers, Idowu said.