The protesters gathered in front of the US National Museum building and African American Civil War Memorial on Sunday and marched towards the White House.
They carried placards that referred mainly to the recent slaughter of black people in a church in South Carolina by a white man.
"Stand with Charleston", "Stop the War on Black America", and "Black Lives Matter", read some of the placards carried by the demonstrators.
The march was held after a vigil for nine black people killed in Wednesday’s church shooting by a 21-year-old white supremacist.
