Dozens of people rallied in northeast Oklahoma City on Saturday to protest recent state legislation that limits convicts' ability to file lawsuits against private prisons.
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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People organized the rally, which took place outside the department of public safety offices near NE 36 and Martin Luther King Avenue.
House Bill 2966, which was signed by Gov. Brad Henry in April, prohibits inmates from bringing legal action against a private prison for an incident during imprisonment if no complaint or action was taken before release.
Roosevelt Milton, local NAACP president, said he is encouraging minorities to channel their anger.
"Unless we get out here and agitate, we are going to keep getting kicked around," Milton said.
Other issues such as immigration laws and minorities being tried by all-white juries have many in the community upset, Milton said.
Ed Romo, vice president for politics and civil rights for the League of United Latin American Citizens, which rallied alongside the NAACP, said he would like to see additional investigation into the "suspicious" deaths of several minorities in Oklahoma.
"We have gathered in unity because we are distraught over the mistreatment of people of color," Romo said. "We are tired of the law of the gun barrel."
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