The meeting broke into small groups to discuss why L.A. is important within the national issue of police violence. (Sophia Li / Neon Tommy)

The news out of Ferguson, Mo. is becoming less frequent and loud. But a group of Angelenos refuse to forget the night Michael Brown was killed by police.

More than 100 people gathered on Sunday to describe and discuss their recent drive to Ferguson, Mo. as part of the #BlackLivesMatter movement to march in solidarity and engage in discussions with community members.

About 40 people piled in vans and rode 36 hours from Los Angeles to Ferguson. According to the Black Lives Matter website, groups met in Ferguson to stand in solidarity with protesters and determine a plan of action to push the following demands:

1. Justice for the family of Michael Brown and all other victims of law enforcement and vigilante violence.

2. The development of a national policy specifically aimed at redressing the systemic pattern of anti-black law enforcement violence in the U.S.

3. De-militarization of Law Enforcement - we are demanding that the federal government discontinue its supply of military weaponry and equipment to local law enforcement. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies across the country should liquidate their current military resources, immediately.

4. Release the names of all officers involved in murdering Black people both on patrol, but also inside custody from the last 5 years onward.

5. Decrease law enforcement spending/budget by ½ by 2016, and invest that money into Black communities most devastated by poverty in order to create jobs, housing, and schools.

For 27-year-old Jasmine Richards, the trip meant "experiencing racism in all the different states and realizing for the very first time that racism is real."

READ MORE: Protestors Defy Curfew In Ferguson, Mo.

Richards recalled the trip there in her van, which was emblazoned with the words "Black Lives Matter." As a truck driver passed, he gave them the middle finger and pointed his hand like a gun. Richards' worst experience, however, was in Utah where the group stopped for a meal. 

"We went into Wendy's and a man said to his son, 'How did you count all of them?' as he looked at us. And I said to him, 'We aren't cattle. We aren't sheep. We're just black," Richards said. "I asked the son directly, 'Do you think I'm scary?' and he said 'no.' And the dad put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'We just don't get a lot of your kind around here.'"

After these encounters, Richards realized: "I hated being black, and I didn't even know it." But being in Ferguson and surrounded by people who truly listened to her was a changing experience.

"For the first time in my life I was proud to be black," Richards said. 

Alongside Richards at the meeting on Sunday was a 10-year-old named Thandiwe, who also happened to be the youngest person who made the trek to Ferguson.

One of the important ways young people can get involved in the #BlackLivesMatter movement is through art and music. (Sophia Li / Neon Tommy

Thandiwe spoke on the importance of getting kids involved in this movement and why she felt like she needed to be an advocate.

"I asked some of the [white police officers] what they would do if it had been their son, and they said he probably got what he deserved," Thandiwe said. "As a kid myself, I could not accept that answer."

According to Damon Turner, the arts and culture director of Black Lives Matter, art plays an integral role in the movement because it "has the capacity to move beyond the brain and hit the heart."

Turner, who also rode to Ferguson, was quick to say that he is not an organizer. When he thought about art, though, he realized that he could connect to the movement that way.

"#BlackLivesMatter is using what we have. And that's history; we always made the best, beautiful, elaborate things out of nothing," Turner said. "So this is our opportunity to continue to do that."

SEE ALSO: Ferguson, Mo. Is Making Us Confront Racism In The Media

#BlackLivesMatter will meet again on Sunday Sept. 21st at Mercado La Paloma for a strategy session.

Take a look at how some participants felt about being in Ferguson for #BlackLivesMatter:

Reach Web Producer Sophia Li here. Follow her on Twitter here.