Black figures hung in effigy at Berkeley

As thousands marched to end police brutality in Washington D.C., and New York City on Saturday, three cardboard cutouts of African-Americans were found hanging in effigy by nooses on the Berkeley campus of the University of California.

School spokeswoman Amy Hamaoui told the AP the effigies appear to be connected to a noon-time demonstration nearby planned to coincide with a national protest against police brutality. The effigies, two male and one female, included names of lynching victims and the dates of their death. Hamaoui said it's unclear who hanged the effigies and police are looking into the matter. "We are unsure of the intent," Hamaoui said.

As of late afternoon, no suspect had been identified. "It certainly could have been racially motivated, so we're taking it very seriously and are very interested in finding out who did this and what the intention was," UC Berkeley spokeswoman Claire Holmes tells USA TODAY.

Fusion.net reports the female effigy of a lynched woman was identified as Laura Nelson from 1911, and included the hashtag "#ICantBreathe. Police officers took two of the effigies down soon after the student learned of them at 9:10 a.m, Holmes says. Students took down the third.

Many on Twitter reacted with confusion and disgust.

"No one knows who put effigy up it was not CAL BSU students or ally," tweeted Michael McBride, pastor of the Way Christian Center in Berkeley, who walked with protesters. "The impact is the same: racial terror & it's unacceptable."

"This happened on the campus of the #1 Public Institution," wrote user @itsMumbeeezy. "Don't tell me that Racisim isn't alive."

User @WhoGonStopMePR wrote "whether intentions were good or bad, the delivery IS distasteful. As an AfAm alum, I DON't support this."

Hundreds of protesters in Berkeley, aided by the hashtags #berkeleyprotest and #Ferguson2Cal on Twitter, marched up and down Church street beginning at noon, chanting "the whole damn system is guilty as hell" and "I think that we will win." Police presence was minimal.

Berkeley protesters merged with an Oakland contingent at 2 p.m. On campus, "there were no incidents from the protests," says Holmes.

Contributing: Chris Wiggins, The Associated Press