Antonio Martin

Minutes before Christmas Day officially started, a few dozen activists stood outside the Cathedral Basilica in Berkeley, Missouri, with lit candles and posters in memory of Antonio Martin, a black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a police officer Tuesday night. "The intent is to gather people in honor of him and other people who have been slain by police," Lydia Marie, 23, an intern for Amnesty International who coordinated the demonstration, told The Huffington Post. "This is another Christmas Eve a family is spending without their child who was lost to police violence." "As a black man, I’m trying to consistently deal with this, waking up and seeing slayings on the news," said Michael Anthony, 29, a cinematographer from St. Louis.