Lonely Protest

Here's John Doherty: Jackie Burnett watched Omari Shakur from a block away. She watched him push a PA system into place and post the black, red and green Marcus Garvey Black Power flag next to a phone pole that was wrapped in bandannas.

Some of the bandannas were faded from six months worth of rainstorms, and all of them were left behind in tribute to Shakur's dead son.

Burnett's been here in this spot for years, on the stoop next to the bodega on the corner of William Street. She was here when the clerk, Papi Morales, was shot dead in 2005. She was here last Oct. 30 when Shakur's son, Antonio Bryant, 23, sprinted across Broadway in the early evening darkness, firing away at the police who were chasing him and shooting back.

"As a parent, I feel for Omari," said Burnett, 55. "I ran to him (Antonio). He was laying face down there. I feel for any parent who loses their child, regardless of what side of the law they're on."