Thousands Rally in New York and Elsewhere as Anger over Acquittal in Case of Shooting of Black Teen Continues.
aljazeera
July 20, 2013
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/07/2013720171819673619.html
Trayvon Martin's parents have been joined by celebrities, civil rights activists and protesters as they led rallies in New York and Florida to show their anger at the acquittal of the man who shot and killed their unarmed teenage son.
Sybrina Fulton led a rally of more than a thousand people in New York, along with veteran civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, where she told the crowd that the picture painted of her son, Trayvon, during the trial depicted a man she did not recognise.
If a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario ... both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different"He was a child," she said during her speech to the hundreds-strong crowd.
"We have moved on from the verdict. Of course we're hurting of course we're shocked and disappointed, but that just means we have to roll up our sleeves and continue to fight."
Singers Jay Z and Beyonce also came out to the New York rally.
In Miami, a crowd of hundreds singing the protest song "We Shall Overcome" joined Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, to demand that George Zimmerman, acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter exactly a week ago, face civil charges.
Al Jazeera's Cath Turner, reporting from New york, said that the Martins and other organisers had continually called for the protests to remain peaceful.
"There is still a lot of emotion one week after the sentence was handed down. The purpose of these rallies is to pressure the Department of Justice in to bringing civil charges against George Zimmerman," our correspondent said.
Zimmerman has always maintained he shot Trayvon in self defence.
Marches, under the banner of "Justice for Trayvon", also took place at federal courthouses in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta and many other cities.
Reverend Sharpton said protests had been planned for more than 100 cities nationwide under the banner 'Justice for Trayvon.'
'Racial disparities'
Organisers voiced hopes that Saturday's protests would be peaceful, with no further outbreaks of the violence that led to arrests in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area earlier this week.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Obama also cautioned against violence, as he urged all Americans to try to understand the Martin case from the perspective of African-Americans.
"There is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws," the president said.
"A lot of African American boys are painted with a broad brush," he said.
"If a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario ... both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different."
Beverly Bond from the mentoring group Black Girls Rock told Al Jazeera that the black community wanted people to know that this was not an isolated incident.
"This is an injustice we have seen in our community over and over and over again. It is amazing to me that people don't know why we're upset," she said.
"The trial added insult to injury because it was like he was being put on trial for his own murder."
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'Justice For Trayvon' Rallies Unfold Across the U.S.
By Devin Kelly
Los Angeles Times
July 20, 2013
Scores of rallies and vigils unfolded around the nation on Saturday, honoring 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and demanding a federal civil rights investigation into his death.
More than 100 cities were scheduled to hold “Justice for Trayvon" vigils, which the Rev. Al Sharpton announced Tuesday on the steps of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington. Almost a week after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman of murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Martin, the events in states including Alabama, North Carolina and Florida bore the semblance of a national movement. The National Action Network, Sharpton's civil rights organization, is hoping to build momentum for the filing of federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman.
Hundreds turned out for a noon rally in New York City, where Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, spoke to the crowd. Martin's father, Tracy Martin, attended a vigil in Miami.
In downtown Los Angeles, about 400 people marched down Spring Street to continue a demonstration that began outside the federal building. Rallies were also planned in Riverside, Palmdale, Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland.
Tweets and photos were pouring in from cities across the U.S. Here's a sampling:http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-rallies-twitter-20130720,0,3076545.story?track=rss
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