During 2014 protests in Ferguson Garza, Cullors, and Tometi organized "Freedom Rides" to Ferguson. 500 people would sign up and travel to Ferguson in these "Freedom Rides". Protesters throughout Ferguson would adopt the slogan "Black Lives Matter" throughout the months-long protests. The organization's involvement in protests in Ferguson and the slogan's popularity brought the organization and the Black Lives Matter movement to national attention. New found popularity sparked a rise of other Black Lives Matter organizations that were independent of the BLMGN, as well as new chapters of the BLMGN forming in other cities.