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Across US, people rally for 'Justice for Trayvon'By BILL BARROW , Associated Press
Jul. 21, 2013 10:43 AM ET
ATLANTA (AP) — Crowds chanted "Justice! Justice!" as they rallied in dozens of U.S. cities Saturday, urging authorities to change self-defense laws and press federal civil rights charges against a former neighborhood watch leader found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Tracy Martin, center, father of Trayvon Martin, poses for photos with supporters wearing hoodies, at a "Justice for Trayvon" rally, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Miami, one week after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Tracy Martin, center, father of Trayvon Martin, poses for photos with supporters wearing hoodies, at a "Justice for Trayvon" rally, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Miami, one week after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Tracy Martin, center, father of Trayvon Martin, wipes sweat from his face as he listens to speakers at a "Justice for Trayvon" rally, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Miami. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
In this Saturday, July 20, 2013, photo, Patricia Dorsey of Cincinnati cries during a rally in downtown Cincinnati protesting the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Rallies across the nation urged changes to self-defense laws and for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman, who was acquitted in Martin's shooting death last week. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)
Janine Jolicoeur grieves Saturday, July 20, 2013, in Miami over the death of her son, Kervin, who she says was killed in Miami Gardens under similar circumstances as Trayvon Martin. "I need justice for my son," Jolicoeur said. She stands with the Hatian Women of Miami organization. One week after a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Martin, people gathered nationwide Saturday to press for federal civil rights charges against the former neighborhood watch leader, and to call for changes in the nation's self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Miami Herald, Alex M Sanchez) MAGS OUT
Michael Kelly places his hands to his face as he prays during a rally during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT
An American Flag is held high during a rally at Big Spring International Park Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)
Maya White sits beneath protest signs during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT
People wait for a rally to begin, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)
Over 200 people showed up to sing and speak during a rally at Big Spring International Park Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)
Darrin Alexander, of Huntsville, talks to over 200 people as they gather for a rally, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Huntsville, Ala. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)
Protesters march along Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT
Protesters march along Broad Street during a rally Saturday July 20, 2013 in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Doug Strickland) THE DAILY CITIZEN OUT; NOOGA.COM OUT; CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT
A large crowd gathers at the National Civil Rights Museum, Saturday, July 20, 2013 in Memphis, Tenn. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Aaron Turner)
Elizabeth Hart, right, and Charlise Clark speak to the large crowd gathered at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday, July 20, 2013, in protest of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. Hart and Clark recently met each other and organized the entire vigil through social media. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Aaron Turner)
People take part in a march and rally Saturday, July 20, 2013, in East St. Louis, Ill., as a show of solidarity between the residents of the city and the parents of Trayvon Martin, whose father, Tracy Martin, formerly lived in East St. Louis and still has many friends there. (AP Photo/Belleville News-Democrat, Tim Vizer)
Frances Whiters, 64, of Detroit, sheds a tear while attending the Detroit Chapter of the National Action Network protest of the controversial circumstances surrounding Trayvon Martin's death and the subsequent non guilty verdict of George Zimmerman in downtown Detroit on Saturday, July 20, 2013. Civil rights groups all around the country held demonstrations as part of the National Action Network's "Justice for Trayvon" 100 City Vigil campaign. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Jarrad Henderson) DETROIT NEWS OUT; NO SALES.
The Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. leads the crowd in a chant as he and Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, center left, attend a rally held at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland, Calif. on Saturday, July 20, 2013. The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies nationwide to press for federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/The Tribune, Dan Honda)
The Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network organized the "Justice for Trayvon" rallies and vigils outside federal buildings in at least 101 cities one week after a jury delivered the verdict for George Zimmerman in Martin's 2012 death in a gated central Florida community. "No justice! No peace!" participants chanted. Some sang hymns, prayed and held hands. Many held signs — in Los Angeles, one read, "This is Amerikkka: From Dred Scott to Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, black people have no rights that white people are bound to respect." The case has become a flashpoint in separate but converging national debates over self-defense, guns, and race relations. Zimmerman, who successfully claimed that he was protecting himself when he shot Martin, identifies himself as Hispanic. Martin was black. In Atlanta, speakers noted that the rally took place in the shadows of federal buildings named for two figures who had vastly differing views on civil rights and racial equality: Richard B. Russell was a Georgia governor and U.S. senator elected in the Jim Crow South; the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is the face of African-Americans' civil rights movement. "What's so frightening about a black man in a hood?" said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who now occupies the pulpit at King's Ebenezer Baptist Church. In New York, hundreds of people — including Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, and music superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce — gathered in the heat. Fulton told the crowd she was determined to fight for changes needed to ensure that black youths are no longer viewed with suspicion because of their skin color. "I promise you I'm going to work for your children as well," she told the crowd. Earlier Saturday, at Sharpton's headquarters in Harlem, she implored people to understand that the tragedy involved more than Martin alone. "Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours," she said. In addition to pushing the Justice Department to investigate civil rights charges against Zimmerman, Sharpton told supporters In New York that he wants to see a rollback of stand-your-ground self-defense laws. "We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again," Sharpton said. His daughters, Ashley and Dominique Sharpton, were scheduled to lead a follow-up march Sunday in Harlem. Stand-your-ground laws are on the books in more than 20 states, and they go beyond many older, traditional self-defense statutes. In general, stand-your-ground laws eliminate a person's duty to retreat, if possible, in the face of a serious physical threat. Zimmerman didn't invoke stand-your-ground, relying instead on a traditional self-defense argument, but the judge included a provision of the law in the jurors' instructions, allowing them to consider it as a legitimate defense. Neither was race discussed in front of the jury. But the two topics have dominated public discourse about the case, and came up throughout Saturday's rallies. "It's personal," said Cincinnati resident Chris Donegan, whose 11-year-old son wore a hoodie to the rally, as Martin did the night he died. "Anybody who is black with kids, Trayvon Martin became our son." In Indianapolis, the Rev. Jeffrey Johnson told roughly 200 attendees that the rallies were about making life safer for young black men who are still endangered by racial profiling. Johnson compared Zimmerman's acquittal to that of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King in 1992. "The verdict freed George Zimmerman, but it condemned America more," said Johnson, pastor of the Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis and a member of the board of directors of the National Action Network. In Miami, Tracy Martin spoke about his son. "This could be any one of our children," he said. "Our mission now is to make sure that this doesn't happen to your child." He recalled a promise he made to his son as he lay in his casket. "I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die," he said. Shantescia Hill held a sign in Miami that read: "Every person deserves a safe walk home." The 31-year-old mother, who is black, said, "I'm here because our children can't even walk on the streets without fearing for their lives." Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin. Most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to prove. Zimmerman's lawyers have said their client wasn't driven by race, but by a desire to protect his neighborhood. ____ Associated Press writers Phillip Lucas in Atlanta, Charles Wilson in Indianapolis, Amanda Lee Myers in Cincinnati, Christine Armario in Miami and Verena Dobnik in New York contributed to this report. © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. |
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