OAKLAND — About 1,000 protesters shut down both directions of Interstate 880 on Thursday night for about four hours after they marched from Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in a show of national solidarity opposed to recent incidents of apparent police brutality.

Images from ABC7 show people lighting off fireworks on the highway during the protest. Lanes in both directions of 880 at Broadway were reopened at 1:15 a.m., according to the CHP.

Just after midnight police reported no injuries.

The mostly peaceful rally began with about 2,000 people marching down Broadway, some chanting “The whole damn system is guilty as hell,” and arriving at the downtown plaza to hear passionate speakers with a muffled megaphone denounce police violence. Oakland police estimate 1,000 people walked on the freeway while the other 1,000 remained on city streets.

Among the many who joined in the rally was a group of millennials who call themselves Asians for Black Lives. About five of them proudly held a flag adorned with the words “Third Worlds for Black Power.”

Devika Ghai said the organization formed because of the legacy of black resistance and the “historical debt” Asians and other people of color owe to the community. She added that black people have be struggling for liberation since the beginning of this country’s history.

“We’re here together. Some of us have been here for a long time,” Ghai said. “Until black liberation is won, we’re not going away.”

Around 8:30 p.m., protesters stopped in front of Oakland Police Department headquarters, where rally organizer Minister Ben McBride spoke to an enthused crowd chanting “black lives matter.”

As McBride prepared to read the demands for Oakland police, he asked protesters, “Are you glad you’re out here to remember Alton tonight? Are you glad you’re here to remember Phil tonight? Are you glad you came here to shut it down tonight?”

The hundreds of protesters yelled “yes!” to all questions. McBride then read the demands of the protesters, calling the police department “guilty” of an array of crimes, including murder.

The minister then splattered red paint as a “representation of the blood that’s been spilled” on the front door entrance of police headquarters as protesters cheered.

Oakland police report a handful of businesses were victims of vandalism, including broken windows at Smart and Final and Foot Locker and graffiti on the window of Chase Bank at 14th and Broadway. Graffiti was sprayed on columns in the 1000 block of Broadway and a small fire ignited on 880.

The Oakland protest was mostly peaceful, with local police issuing public alerts for little more than traffic obstructions on downtown streets. At 12:15 a.m., as the protest drew near its end, police reported no injuries.

Then the protesters made their way toward the freeway.

Traffic on both sides of I-880 was brought to a complete halt, and there were reports of someone setting off fireworks in the middle of the roadway. The demonstrators remained there late into the night, with both directions of the highway still blocked as of 10:45 p.m.

Unlike the Black Lives Matter protests of 2014 and 2015, when California Highway Patrol and Oakland police blocked highway entrances, there was no such blockade Thursday evening. Police were stationed around the police department, but did not block the Broadway offramp to I-880. With hundreds of people scattered throughout the busy highway, it was the largest amount of protesters on an Oakland highway in recent years.

At least three police helicopters hovered above protesters, putting them in their spotlight as revelers jumped on top of semi trucks and danced to the sounds of three trumpeters playing upbeat music. The words “Black Lives Matter” shined on a large tractor trailer.

Motorcyclist James Moody, of Oakland, stopped his black bike in the far left lane of southbound I-880 and revved his engine in support of the protesters. He was on his way to the rally when his traffic was brought to a stop.

Moody said he was glad he could chant alongside protesters on the highway because he could “be a part of it.”

“I wish there was something more than I can do. I feel a little bit hopeless not knowing what to do, as the people in my neighborhood get treated so differently than I do,” said Moody, who lives in Fruitvale.

Because people were on the highway, downtown Oakland remained quiet late Thursday and businesses did not face the destruction of previous protests that have disrupted the city in recent years.

Earlier Thursday, the police department issued a letter to let downtown businesses know that its officers would be standing by in the event of major trouble.

“Keeping peace on our streets and protecting the safety of Oakland residents and businesses is our top priority,” the letter read. “Although we don’t anticipate problems to occur, in the event that the demonstrations become unlawful, the Oakland Police Department is prepared to swiftly address any criminal behavior that would damage property or jeopardize the safety of the public or police officers. Individuals engaging in such behavior are subject to arrest and prosecution.”

The Oakland protest was in stark contrast to a similar event in Dallas, where at least four police officers were killed and seven others injured in what authorities are calling a sniper attack.

A statement from Dallas Police Chief David Brown released by a city spokeswoman said “it appears that two snipers shot (the) police officers from elevated positions during the protest/rally.”

Thursday’s protests across the nation were in response to the fatal police shootings this week of two black men, Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

Staff writer David DeBolt and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Katrina Cameron at 925-945-4782. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatCameron91.