Actually "symptoms" become "symbols" that people rally around. Sitting at the front of the bus instead of the back was a symptom of racism not the cause. You can't "attack" an underlying cause but you can attack a physical manifestation/symptom of the problem.
Yeah, but when attacking a symptom becomes directing your hatred at a group of people, you have a problem.
The unfortunate fact is that some of the people protesting have been the originators of the underlying causes via voting and legislation.