Protest for Trayvon Martin Sunday at 25th and Jackson

Grab a hoodie and a bag of Skittles. People are gathering at the Greater Mt. Baker Baptist Church Sunday afternoon to protest the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and the reluctance or inability for prosecutors there to pursue charges against the shooter.

Martin was unarmed when a neighborhood watch leader, George Zimmerman, shot him to death. Martin, who was black, was drinking an iced tea and had a bag of Skittles on him at the time, but Zimmerman told police Martin looked “suspicious.” His death has sparked national outrage. The local Police Chief stepped down amid intense protests there, but that has done little to ease the anger as protests spread to cities all over the country.

The Seattle rally starts at 4 p.m., and participants will march to MLK Memorial Park.

From the Facebook event:

Rally at 4pm
Greater Mt.Baker Baptist Church,
2425 South Jackson Street

March at 4:30pm to
MLK Memorial Park,
2200 Martin Luther King Jr Way

Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old black male from Florida, was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch officer named George Zimmerman. Zimmerman followed Martin on the grounds that his behavior was “suspicious” despite having been told not to do so while on the phone with 911.

Investigation shows misconduct on the part of the police officials on scene, ultimately leading to Zimmerman’s walking free. While the evidence continues to pile up showing that Zimmerman’s assertion that he shot Martin in self defense is a fabrication it makes sense that we should stand in solidarity with Martin and make sure that justice is accounted for. Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie that night–clearly the reason for his suspiciousness.

Here’s how YOU can help:

1) Sign the petition here (and don’t forget to share it on your facebook wall):
http://www.change.org/ petitions/ prosecute-the-killer-of-our -son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin

2) Wear a hoodie, bring a bag of skittles, a can of iced tea, and/or a sign demonstrating your support for the prosecution of George Zimmerman.

3) Invite your friends, coworkers, neighbors, anyone and everyone you know to this protest

Sponsors of the rally include:

Seattle King County NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Mothers for Police Accountability

American Friends Service Committee

Martin Luther King Celebration Committee

Greater Mt. Baker Baptist Church

Seattle Branch – International Socialist Organization

Social Equality Educators

48 thoughts on “Protest for Trayvon Martin Sunday at 25th and Jackson

  1. I’m not sure what we are protesting. There is a grand jury set to determine the facts in the case. The federal and state governments are involved. Everybody is watching and wanting to get all the available facts.

    Are we protesting to be sure the shooter is hung no matter what?

  2. I would like to know why people are protesting a man of Cuban/Jewish descent who allegedly wrongfully shot a young African American across the country in Florida, when right here in the CD young African Americans shoot other young African Americans and nobody says a word?

  3. Allow me to explain some of the reasons for the protest:

    Trayvon Martin was not committing a crime by walking down the street when he was being followed, then chased, then shot and killed by George Zimmerman.

    Even though Zimmerman has been arrested in the past and once assaulted a police officer, the police did not take him into custody nor did they properly gather evidence in the case. Zimmerman claimed self defense but according to the 911 tapes and the account of the girlfriend of Trayvon who was on the phone with him when he was killed, Zimmerman was the aggressor. Trayvon was confronted by Zimmerman an older, much larger man who was approaching him on a dark street.

    Trayvon Martin was an A & B student according to his teachers whose only problem recently was chronic tardiness. They say he was a master at “cheerfulness”.

    I know it is hard for people to believe that a 17 year old black kid has a squeaky clean record and was not attacking someone.

    Trayvon did not deserve to die.

    We are protesting the belief that anyone has the right to follow, pursue, hunt down and kill a child just because they are walking down the street wearing a hoodie.

  4. To whomever posted the announcement “grab a hoodie and some skittles” you are very disrespectful to the family of Trayvon Martin. Why even encourage people to support this cause if you are going to set such a sarcastic tone. This is not an invitation to a costume party. It is a space to honor this boy and send a message that we will not allow people to go around hunting and killing our children.

  5. jillcrow, you mean troll, right? There you have had your attention, no need to post again.

  6. The ones “hunting and killing your children” tend to be your children.

    I too think Zimmerman was in the wrong, he should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

    Also while I feel Zimmerman was wrong, a gated community is not a “public street.” To say so is dishonest.

    Your use of the words “semi-automatic weapon” is a bit disingenuous, every handgun made since around 1900 that was not a single action revolver shoots as fast as you can pull the trigger

  7. Black on black violence is as much an issue as white on white violence, violence against women, violence in general. Last I recall a white teen went on a shooting rampage in a school. Does this mean that all white teens look suspicious?

    Name one case where a black kid was killed by a black person, admitted they did it and was not arrested. This is the issue at hand regarding George Zimmerman. Why are the police protecting him? Why did they not gather all the evidence? Why do they believe his account?

    Noone is saying that other murders of black youth are not a problem. The injustice hear is that Zimmerman is being protected when we know if it had been the other way around he would not be.

    Don’t try to say “well you kill your own, why can’t we”. The issue is much deeper than that. But I wouldn’t expect you to understand that.

  8. Even in a gated community, it is your constitutional right to walk freely. There was no law that said you had to report to a self apppointed block watch captain. The block watch sign in this gated community actually says Block Watch Communty: We call the police.

    If someone in a gated community is up to no good, it is the role of the police to deal with it. Not a self apppointed block watch captain riding around with a gun looking for trouble.

  9. A gated community is private property, if you are not a resident or a guest of a resident you are not free to walk there.

    That said, I do not think that a simple case of tresspassing justifies the death penalty.

    There have also been numorous examples of black people shooting others in self-defence and not being arrested. Everybody has a right to self defence. Zimmerman most likely abused his. At this point it looks like there will be an investigation and if found guilty Zimmerman will pay for his crimes.

  10. Trayvon had every right to walk in the gated community as his father’s fiance lived there and he was staying with them at the time. He was on his way back home.

    Zimmerman does not own a townhome in the gated community according to reporters. It is unclear if he even lived there and who he was living with.

    You can’t claim self defense if you follow someone. This tragedy would never have happened if Zimmerman would have gone on his merry way and allowed this child to do the same.

  11. The police are not judge and jury. Their job is #1 to stop or prevent crimes, #2 to investigate (gather the facts) about cases where a crime may have occured.

    As Trevon was already dead when they arrived they were not able to prevent anything. There is no reason to believe Zimmerman will be shooting any additional people in the near future and his argument for self defense cannot immediately be discounted. There was no legal ground that night to detain Zimmerman. To do so would be assuming the role of judge and jury.

    The police went about gathering evindence and presenting it to the prosecutor. That is the extent of their role in society. What is more disturbing, and what you should be angry about, is all of the times the police go beyond this responsibility. All of the times they act on suspicion and unlawfully detain people. All the times they charge people on slim or made up evidence. From all I can tell the police acted within the scope of their responsibility.

    What happened that night we will never really know. It is possible that Zimmerman decided to hunt down and kill a black kid for kicks. Or that the kid pissed him off with a wise crack and he went bonkers. Or Trevon was offended about being watched and suspected for no reason and decided to give Zimmerman a deserved punch in the face and as a result was shot in self defense. Or perhaps he really was prowling about looking for something to steal or someone to rob to support his drug habit, which is common among cronically tardy people, and in a violent rage he went after Zimmerman. Or, more likely both Zimmerman and Trevon were brash idiots and Trevon paid the higher price.

    None of us will ever know what happenned. I’m certainly not going to take Trevon’s girlfriend’s word for it or the rest of the community. I mean really these are similar to the folks going on about the various imbiciles here in the CD that were shot down in the middle of the night – just good loving folks who never did nothing to nobody. The credibility of ‘the community’ is seriously in doubt.

    It is right to demand a proper investigation and due respect to a kid who deserved a chance to live.

    But let’s be carefull what we ask the police to do. Let’s ask them to gather the facts and present cases, not arrest poeple until there is probable cause (in the legal sense) to do so. And to apply this process to people of all colors and backgrounds. I would rather have a few Zimmerman’s on the street than more innocent men in prison. Yes, there are innocent men in prison due to hasty (or worse) police work.

  12. What is trolling? It seams in the smallest sense to mean posting contrary opinions in a vain effort to draw attention or cause a rucous. In the larger sense could it be applied to the protestors demanding the death of Zimmerman? Are the 99% trolls?

    Is it not the point of a public forum such as this to solicit information and dialog from the community? More trolling please. Perhaps if we actually talk, fewer conflicts will arise, and there will be fewer Trayvon’s on the ground.

  13. struth, that was not meant to be sarcastic. The Skittles and the hoodie have become symbols of the case, as they illustrate the fact that he was an unarmed teen. Some protest organizers asked people to bring these things, and protests in other cities have seen people wearing hoodies and holding Skittles. I meant no disrespect.

  14. “well you kill your own, why can’t we”

    Who is we? Is it Jewish Hispanics? Is it an attempt to blame whitey? Is it another example of pointing fingers without first looking inward? Is it pointing out the mess of someone else when you haven’t cleaned up your own?

    The facts in this case are not in yet.
    I think you doth protest too much.

    However I wouldn’t mind a “Start snitchin” protest the next time a “child” in Seattle dies at the hands of his gangbanger buddies.

  15. Truly gated communities usually have security check points at gates for you to enter their community. I have a good friend who works in one. What happens is anyone visiting a resident has to check in at the gate and provide identification. This way there is no need for people who are not trained security guards to patrol the area with loaded guns in the manner that George Zimmerman did.

    I don’t know what kind of gated community has a man so fearful of crime that he feels the need to drive around with a loaded gun. It really shows how stupid George Zimmerman and his other block watch buddies are. There is a way to promote safety in a gated community and the way he did it creates an environment which leads to a tragedy like the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

  16. You obviously have not read any of the information in this case. It is standard procedure to detain someone who has admitted to shooting someone in order to gather forensic evidence. The police did not take George Zimmerman’s gun as evidence nor did they do a toxicology test which is standard procedure to see if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Nor did they collect his clothing or take a sample of the blood on his face to determine if it was indeed his. How do we know his injuries were not self inflicted in order for him to build his self defense case? He was building his argument while on the 911 tapes.

    Many experts say he sounded drunk on the 911 tapes.

    Zimmerman was older and over 100 lbs heavier than Trayvon Martin. He admitted in the tapes that he confronted the boy. That being the case, Trayvon had the right to defend himself as well. George Zimmerman was not in uniform and was unknown to the boy. How was he supposed to know the man was not a kidnapper or sexual predator?

    What is appalling about the police handling of the case is that they totally disregarded George Zimmerman’s background. He was accused by his ex fiance of domestic violence but she didn’t press charges. Also he once assaulted a police officer when he was defending a friend of his who was being arrested for disorderly conduct.

    The Sanford police are protecting George Zimmerman whose father is a retired judge. This is obvious and this is unjust.

  17. I don’t believe for a minute that Zimmerman felt his life was in danger from an unarmed boy who was smaller than he.

    The video posted by Karl Walther does not mean this is a closed case. Of course the police are not going to present information that makes them look bad. It’s obvious this is a cover up as they made numerous mistakes during the investigation. The police determined Zimmerman was innocent but that’s not how our judicial system works, they don’t have the right to decide that. Their job is to gather the evidence in the case. Their job is to enforce laws. It is the job of attorneys, prosecutors and juries to decide innocence or guilt.

  18. 1. Why didn’t Zimmerman who the Sanford Police are now painting the picture as a model citizen, sit there and watch the boy die after he shot him? He was no longer in danger as he claimed. The police said when they arrived he was standing over the boy’s dead body. They tried CPR, sent the boy to the morgue.

    2. Why didn’t they go through Trayvon’s cell phone which was right there at the scene to see if they could locate family members of the slain boy?

    When they removed Trayvon’s lifeless body, they listed him as a John Doe. They probably thought no one cared about the boy or would try to find him. At least they hoped…

    It was several days before his family was finally able to find their son and learned he had been killed. This was after calling hospitals and the police.

    From the very start, the police have shown favoritism towards Zimmerman. Why would anyone be surprised that their recent statements would not change this fact?

  19. 1. Zimmerman has already called for help when he called 911. Perhaps he didn’t render assistance because he did not have medical training, was in shock from shooting someone, or was covering the threat until assistance arrives, which is pretty normal in use of deadly force training. Plenty of people have been injured or killed by those who they though were dead.

    2. That would be tampering with evidence, going through the belongings of the deceased is the job of the medical examiner and crime scene investigators.

    3. When someone is not carrying an ID they’re listed as a JOHN DOE, just a fact of life. They will remain a John Doe until positive identification is made.

    4. It doesn’t matter if you call the hospitals, and they are not going to know anything about a homicide DOA that went straight medical examiner.

    So the case is already under FEDERAL INVESTIGATION, the police chief has stepped down and all parties are cooperating to find resolution in this case. The case is in the national spotlight and even has the ear of the President of the United States.

    What more is there to ask for?

    Is this protest just to ask for Zimmerman’s head without due process?

    Is it to ask for the heads of the police without an investigation?

    Is it to ban peoples legal right to self defense or the right to carry firearms for self defense?

    The real question is why is there a protest in Seattle for a person shot in Florida?

    To point fingers and blame “the system” in a totally unrelated city?

    To fan the fires of racism?

    If the “community” is so concerned why don’t they spend their time bettering the community…. read more br/>read more
    ther than marching and playing the blame game?

  20. They tested Trayvon’s blood and found no drugs in his system. Experts who listened to the 911 tapes of Zimmerman however said “he” sounded drunk.

  21. “I don’t believe for a minute that Zimmerman felt his life was in danger from an unarmed boy who was smaller than he.”

    That is very much a half truth.
    Martin was a tall fit high-school athlete Zimmerman was a short fat wannabe mall cop. I’ve seen a 110 pound female psych patient rip restraints and lift a hospital bed off the ground. Someone being smaller than you often doesn’t matter in a fight. Also eyewitness accounts said that Martin was on top of Zimmerman punching him when he got shot.

    Justice is complicated and takes a lot more than a bunch of people going out in the the streets, tying up traffic, wasting everybodys time and screaming for “Justice!” Also I am sure the Autonomia youth brigade will be there to call SPD “murderers” cause some minority shot some other minority in Florida.

    The police have not determined that Zimmerman was innocent, the police do not determine guilt or innocence, that is up to a jury. This whole unfortunate incident is still under investigation and many of the facts have yet to come out.

    Yes the police most likely did botch the case, how much will come out in the investigation.

  22. The protest is in part about the fact that we have a society that profiles people based on stereotypes. It’s about protesting a culture where people feel they have the right to stop and question people they deem “suspicious” when they are minding their own business. It’s about civil rights.

    No matter how many violent crimes are committed by whites, you won’t see people profiling white males and calling the police saying they look suspicious when they are walking down the street.

    The protest in Seattle is also about supporting the family of Trayvon Martin who have lost their son for no reason at all. That ultimately is why so many people in particular black people, are protesting. We know this could have been any of our sons or any one of us.

    And we are doing a lot to better our communities. I’ve been a community activist for over 20 years and still see the fruits of my labor in completed projects and lives touched. While our community is not perfect, I have a track record of projects that have made it better. We have seen successful projects de-funded to the point where we can no longer function. An organization I led for 13 years lost all our funds and the youth programs we created went away. You can only do so much as a volunteer organization. It takes resources to get enough people involved in creating solutions. We have solutions and every time we make a dent in the problem, the funds go away. Our society has promoted a mean, insensitive, selfish culture that dehumanizes people and then acts surprised when people act inhumane.

  23. Nothing. Yes. Yes. Yes. Refer to next two ansers. Yes. Yes. This is more than just about one kid in Florida being shot under unknown circumstances that he probably played an unfortunate role in. It is about 500 years of black anger over their inability to overcome obstacles that all other groups have.

  24. I heard on KOMO Radio news yesterday that there will also be a march MB Baptist to MLK Memorial Park at the fountain. Is that true? I didn’t see it mentioned anywhere else.

  25. Yes, from what I understand, there will be a rally at 25th/Jackson followed by a march to MLK Memorial Park.

  26. @jillcrow: If you can’t get this, don’t come. Your uncle Jim is proud of you, as are the NRA, George Zimmerman, and all the other ugly righties.

  27. Hopefully justice will be served and we will find out what really happened. The news reports are just news reports not the kind of facts that will hopefully come out with a thorough investigation. What we should be scared of is crazy “no back down” vigilante laws like this one in Florida. They are indication for precisely this kind of thing.

  28. Ian,

    Washington has been a “stand your ground” state for some time.
    It is quite resonable to not have a duty to retreat from somone who wishes to do bodily harm to you or anyone else.

    RCW 9A.16.050
    Homicide — By other person — When justifiable.

    Homicide is also justifiable when committed either:

    (1) In the lawful defense of the slayer, or his or her husband, wife, parent, child, brother, or sister, or of any other person in his or her presence or company, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury to the slayer or to any such person, and there is imminent danger of such design being accomplished; or

    (2) In the actual resistance of an attempt to commit a felony upon the slayer, in his or her presence, or upon or in a dwelling, or other place of abode, in which he or she is.

  29. While everyone is at the Mount Baker Church (the start of the “protest” of the crime 3,000 miles away), please ask them about the problem they are ignoring on their own property.

    They are doing nothing to help stop the sale of drugs and sex behind their church.

    Please read this other article related to the church.

    http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2012/03/05/greater-mount-

  30. KarlWeather: Yeah, but how does that work out when you have to chase down the person that you think wants to do you harm?

  31. I think Zimmerman should get the same sentence as that fat gang banger that gunned down the innocent 12 year old boy at the 7 Eleven at 129th and MLK.

  32. I was thinking the same thing.

    Plenty of drugs and prostitution nearly every night on Mt. Baker’s property and there’s not even a lock on the gate to the empty house they own and garbage strewn around the property.

  33. “The protest is in part about the fact that we have a society that profiles people based on stereotypes. It’s about protesting a culture where people feel they have the right to stop and question people they deem “suspicious” when they are minding their own business. It’s about civil rights.”

    AMEN!!!!!!!

  34. The problem of violence is not just a black problem. Even though white people also commit violent crimes no one profiles white males. I’m sick of white people acting like they don’t have violent criminals or drug problems. The problem is violence in general in our society, and the fact that people only associate crime with black males.

    I’d love to see an experiment where the police focus on a poor white area infested with drug abuse, and on a daily basis, pull white people over at random, or stop and frisk them and search for drugs. Then we’d see who fills up the county jails.

    For example the state of Kentucky is 87% white according to 2010 US Census, and Kentucky is number one in the nation for drug abuse, in particular prescription drug abuse. Many people from Kentucky cross state lines into Florida where they can buy illegal prescriptions written by greedy crooked doctors who setup shop in illegal pharmacies. But you won’t see white people outraged about that or do something about that. They are only concerned with crimes committed by black people. There have been cases of white people going on shooting sprees. I rarely hear anyone blame the white community for that

    Gun violence is not a black or white issue. We have to get at why do males often feel the need to express themselves by shooting and killing others. In the majority of cases men are the ones shooting people. Why?

  35. Apparently jillcrow aka ears is still looking for attention. Trolling is making statements you hope will cause a uproar and bring attention to yourself, much like a spoiled child. Your post has no merit for any conversation except to bring attention to yourself. There you got it again, perhaps you need your diaper changed.

  36. “I’d love to see an experiment where the police focus on a poor white area infested with drug abuse, and on a daily basis, pull white people over at random, or stop and frisk them and search for drugs. Then we’d see who fills up the county jails.”

    Sounds like where I grew up.

    But as long as we are pulling statistics:

    In 2010 4,849 murderers were white 32.1% of all murderers.
    5770 murderers were black 38.2% of all murderers.
    251(1.7%) were other races, and 4224 or 28% were unknown persons.

    Source: FBI
    http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/c

    In 2010 whites accounted for 72.4% of the population, blacks were 12.6% of the population. The total US population was 311,511,917.

    Source: US Census Bureau
    http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

    As for your anecdotal remark about prescription drug abuse in Kentucky, you are right, I don’t care about a victimless crime that involves adults deciding what substances that they choose to put into their bodies.

    I am far more concerned about Murder.

  37. “Many people from Kentucky cross state lines into Florida…”

    You realize that those two states do not even come close to sharing a border, right?

    The march just went by. Seemed peaceful and was larger than expected.

  38. I am shot and killed in a residential neighborhood. My cell phone is on me and my friend is on the phone, and I am found to have been carrying only a bag of candy and a drink. 911 calls from neighbors record my screams for help, in the moments before my death. No one uses my cell phone to locate my family. No one canvasses the neighborhood to see if someone there knows me. I am a John Doe in the morgue for three days. But, my body is tested for drugs and alcohol. My killer is not tested for anything. My killer is questioned and released, and he is still free today. I am Trayvon Martin, and We are better than this.

  39. That is a very good question.

    There is no reason there should be protests on an event where there are more suppositions than facts before a grand jury who will be given all of the facts (unless you are a conspiracist) makes a decision.

    But it is good media. Makes quite a sensation and even better secondary coverage of the protests of a shooting in Florida.

    I really enjoyed the comment by Eyes. Allow me to parody his statement using actual facts.

    “I am shot and killed in a residential neighborhood. Some overweight middle age white guy of Latino heritage was harassing me and a struggle ensued. 911 calls from neighbors record his screams as I beat on him from above. He unfortunately had a gun and he shot me. I would post a current picture of me but photos influence people’s perception of facts on a case and we should just use facts and actions to represent what really happened here. Nothing will come out of all of the protests because in America we have a system to determine guilt and if it were influenced by outside sources (outside of the facts) then it would not be a very good system would it?

    We still have injustices in the legal system and there needs to be serious change there. 742 persons in jail per 100,000 citizens is incredulous and we the people must demand a change in the system. I just wish the people had chosen a better poster child.

    I am Trayvon Martin or as I was known on Twitter @NO_LIMIT_NIGGA.”

    I would not want to be judged by my screen name, my pictures, or what I am wearing. That would ridiculous Only my actions and actual factual accounts of those actions should be the judge of my guilt or innocence. The one upside of the enormous publicity on the case is that heI can always move for a mistrial and a new trial location since a jury of one’s peers where those selected must not be unduly influenced by outside sources (such as the media) before receiving the facts of the case in court ,is a fundamental cornerstone of our justice system.

  40. Take it easy grampa eyes. The uproar is about justice, not trolling and name calling. Contain yourself into a more tolerant zone.

    If these protesters had their way we would see Zimmerman hanging from a tree. We want real justice, not mob action seeking for some politico prosecutor to assure the sentance demanded.

  41. Now they are saying that Trayvon was a burglar and that Zimmerman can be heard pleading for his life on the 911 tapes and that a witness say Trayvon beating Zimmerman for several minutes before the shots were fired.

    Non of it makes any sense at all. People around hear getting robbed and beaten. Shootings, stabbings, murders. I’m starting to think I need a gun in the house. Why are all these violent people out on our streets?

  42. If everyone buys a new SW .357 the economy will be strenghtened and this type of burglary will go down.