Donning shirts emblazoned with the faces of loved ones, they marked a National Day of Action to oppose Black Deaths in Custody at Sydney's Town Hall on Saturday.
Kylie Aloua, whose son Jai Wright died after a collision between his trail bike and an unmarked police car, stood with protesters who held posters proclaiming "no justice, no peace" as others took the stage.
The crowd heard from Vickey Fernando, whose partner Stanley Russell was fatally shot by police in 2021, Stolen Generation descendant Gloria Duffin and others.
David Dungay Jr's nephew Paul Silva has spent his life advocating for change and justice since his uncle died after being restrained by police in 2015.
His death is one of more than 600 since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
There have been numerous reports, recommendations handed to various governments, apologies from police forces and corrections departments in this time but lives continued to be taken by a system that repeatedly failed Aboriginal people, Mr Silva said.
"Me, my family and many other families have been calling out this system and unfortunately, it's fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes," the Dunghutti man told AAP.
NSW has recorded the highest number of Aboriginal deaths in custody across any state or territory in a single year, prompting Mr Silva to initiate the protest.
In an open letter released in October, coroner Theresa O'Sullivan said the grim milestone should deeply alarm everyone in the state.
Twelve Indigenous people had died in NSW corrective services custody since January but it was not an issue unique to the state, she said.
On Monday, 21-year-old Wiradjuri woman Chelsea Bracken died in hospital after suffering a "medical episode" while on remand at Tasmania's Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison.
"They're obliterating our people," Mr Silva said.
"Even after everything we've seen and said, the number of our people dying in custody is higher than ever.Â
"That's not just failure. That's a system that's still built on racism and control."
Although the rally was held in Sydney, Mr Silva said organisers stood in solidarity with each family who had lost a loved one in custody.
He said incarceration rates across Australia had remained consistent since 1991 or climbed higher, driven by reforms to bail laws, policing practices and cost of living and homelessness crises.
"These people aren't statistics," Mr Silva said.
"They're family members, brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles and aunties."
Alongside drawing attention to the shocking numbers of deaths in custody, Mr Silva wants the remaining recommendations of the 1991 inquiry to be implemented.
This includes the establishment of an Aboriginal-led, independent body to investigate deaths in custody; ongoing funding for Aboriginal legal services; 24-hour access to medical and mental health services in detention; and reparations for families who have lost loved ones.
"They're not demands, they're not requests, they're a mother crying for change," Mr Silva said.
"They're myself, a nephew, a brother, a cousin, crying through inquiries to see what change we can get so the next blackfulla doesn't end up a statistic, so the next family doesn't have to sit through a court proceeding being shown video footage of their loved one being treated inhumanely."
The northern NSW town of Lismore also held a rally on Saturday morning.
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