Chanting “I Am Trayvon Martin,” an estimated 2,000 people marched from the Greater Mount Baker Baptist Church at 25th and Jackson to Martin Luther King Memorial Park Monday in protest of the Florida teen’s killing (see our previous post). Protester’s demanded justice for Martin’s family and the arrest of George Zimmerman, the block watch captain who pursued Martin and shot him.
Martin was unarmed, carrying only a can of iced tea, a bag of Skittles and a cell phone at the time of the shooting. Police did not arrest Zimmerman or test him for drugs and alcohol, prompting outrage from the family when they learned the details of the case several days later.
That outrage spread across the country.
UStream user scyon posted video of the Seattle march. Speeches at the rally start around the 23:00 mark:
UPDATE: CD photographer Truman Buffett was at the protest. Below are some of his photos. You can see more on Buffett’s website.
There are a dozen photos from yesterday’s March & Rally posted here:
http://bit.ly/CDNews_TrayvonMarch
It was inspiring to hear the speakers declare that we must let this be the BEGINNING of something, so that Trayvon will not have died in vain.
I had forgotten, but was reminded yesterday, that Sister Rosa, when asked about finding the strength to Stand Her Ground back in 1955, said “I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldn’t go back.”
Rosa was right. We mustn’t go back. We must follow the examples of Ms. Parks, and Rev. King, and find a way to move forward, even when our nation is dragging its heels.
Each additional day that passes without George Zimmerman being arrested for his crime is an insult and an affront to EVERY American. Let his lawyers use whatever laws they choose to try to squeak out an acquittal, but the role of the Sanford Police is not that of Judge and Jury. No one should be acquitted of murder before they are even charged!
STAND UP. SPEAK OUT. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. and NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT & JUST!
That George Zimmerman is free during the investigation and trial is not an affront to America. What is an affront is all the people arrested when there is little or no evidence as to what happened.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Either justice takes time or there is no justice. Take the same side every time. You can’t rally about one side and then the other as the mood fits. Choose to demand honest and consistent application of the principles of American Justice. Innocent until proven guilty. No search, seisure, or arrest without probable cause.