TWEETS FROM TRAYVON MARTIN’S FAMILY
Lord during my darkest hour I lean on you. You are all that I have. At the end of the day, GOD is still in control. Thank you all for your prayers and support. I will love you forever Trayvon!!! In the name of Jesus!!! — Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother
Et tu, America? –Jahvaris Fulton, Trayvon’s brother
Thanks to everyone who are with us and who will be with us so we together can make sure that this doesn’t happen again. – Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s brother
HURT, SORROW, ANGER–REACTIONS TO THE ZIMMERMAN ACQUITTAL
by Julianne Hing, Color Lines
Saturday, July 13, 2013
A six-person jury in Sanford, Florida found George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman, not guilty of killing Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black teen, on Saturday. The jury, composed of six women, all but one of whom were white, acquitted Zimmerman of second-degree murder as well as a lesser charge of manslaughter.
On February 26 of last year, Zimmerman saw Martin walking home in the rain in his father’s gated community and thinking Martin a dangerous threat, approached him and soon after shot and killed the unarmed black teen. The jury deliberated for 16 hours after a nearly three-week trial during which Zimmerman’s defense argued that he’d been shaken by home break-ins and was attacked by Martin, killing him out of fear for his own life. The prosecution argued that Zimmerman, who ignored a dispatcher warning not to approach Martin, was driven by malice toward Martin. With their verdict, the jury decided that Zimmerman could have been justified in killing Martin that rainy night.
Courtroom proceedings during the trial studiously sidestepped race—Judge Debra Nelson barred attorneys from using the word “racial profiling” during the trial in a murder case that was driven entirely by racial profiling.
Observers of the trial reacted to the verdict with outrage on social media. Below are a few of the responses from folks in the racial justice world.
Twitter Responds to George Zimmerman Verdict
jay smooth@jsmooth995: The fundamental danger of an acquittal is not more riots, it is moe George ZImmermans.
Marc Lamont Hill@marclamonthill: We live in a country where it is not only illegal, but lethal, to be young and Black and outside. Trayvon is our nation’s metaphor.
Jose Antonio Vargas@joseiswriting: Dear media: we do not live in a “post-racial” America. Proof: Trayvon verdict, among countless other reasons.
Michael Eric Dyson@MichaelEDyson: Zimmerman not-guilty decision one of the most profound miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history. Trayvon Martin grieves in his grave.
‘The system has failed’: Hundreds of demonstrators voice their disappointment and anger over not guilty verdict in George Zimmerman trial
Demonstrators in cities across the country took to the streets to protest the not guilty verdict in the Trayvon Martin murder trial
After George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder protesters outside of the Florida courthouse chanted their disappointment with the court’s verdict and justice system at large
Hundreds of people took to social media to express their outrage over the verdict and many warned of revenge attacks against Zimmerman
Hundreds marched in cities across the country with the vast majority of protests remaining peaceful
Some violence broke out in Oakland where crowds smashed windows and started small fires.
Angry crowds gathered in major cities across the country late last night following the not guilty verdict in the Trayvon Martin case.
The demonstrators carried signs and gathered en masse from New York to Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Though the marches were largely non-violent, police assembled close by to monitor activity – fearful strong reactions to the verdict could spill over into rioting.
In Oakland, California, long a hotbed of racial tension, some protestors turned violent – vandalizing police cars, breaking windows and setting fire to garbage cans.
One photo from the protests in the city shows men dousing a flag in lighter fluid and setting it alight.
More demonstrations are planned today under the banner of ‘Justice 4 Trayvon.’ At least three separate protests are scheduled for New York City alone – one in lower Manhattan, one in Harlem an a third in Brooklyn.
In Washington D.C., CBS reported the group of protesters grew from three people to about 400.
They marched for an hour and a half, picking up people from bars and clubs along the way. People carried signs and chanted for racial equality.
- James Evan Muhammad, front left, of the New Black Panther Party, shouts slogans after the verdict of not guilty was handed down in the trial of George Zimmerman at the Seminole County Courthouse, Saturday, July 13, 2013, in Sanford, Fla. Neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman was cleared of all charges Saturday in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager whose killing unleashed furious debate across the U.S. over racial profiling, self-defense and equal justice. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
‘Stop criminalizing black men,’ one sign read.
‘I will not walk on these streets in fear,’ one protester told the broadcaster. ‘I’m not afraid’.
Another rally is expected tonight at Meridian Hill Park and New York’s Union Square while many are expected to re-converge outside the trial courthouse in Florida at 3pm today.
The Miami Herald reported that many churches in the state were planning to remain open throughout the day to help people deal with news of the verdict.
Two protest areas have been erected to allow protests in the city and police officers will be ordered to remain in uniform today to show their presence.
Courthouses and other public buildings were the focus of many of the marches.
More than 40 people gathered at Sacramento City Hall.
The Sacramento Bee reported that protesters chanted: ‘What do we want? Justice. When do you we want it? Now. For who? Trayvon.’
Amongst the protesters at the courthouse were members of the New Black Panther Party who wore shirts reading, ‘Freedom or Death.’
The Sun Sentinel reported that the militants spoke of ‘injustice’ in the moments after the ruling.
‘No one, no one could have foreseen that he would walk away,’ said James Evans Muhammad, the party chairperson told the newspaper.
A crowd of college students were amongst the louder voices present, chanting their dissent well after the verdict was announced.
Violent words were thrown around on social media and vitriolic posters threatened that Zimmerman was a ‘dead man walking.’
Several online commentators sent out George Zimmerman’s address while others post threats using the hashtag ‘If I Ever See Zimmerman’.
However, most heeded the Martin family’s immediate calls for calm and sadness was the pervasive feeling among the thousands reacting to the divisive verdict last night.
Stevie Johnson, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills compared the Zimmerman verdict to Michael Vicks dog fighting case.
‘Living in a world where you fight dogs; you could lose everything (Mike Vick).. If you kill a black man you’re not guilty!#INjusticesystem,‘ Johnson wrote.
Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade lamented the verdict Tweeting,’ How do I explain this to my young boys????’
Musicians also tweeted their frustration with the jury’s verdict. Celebrities including Rihanna, Ice Cube, and Nicki Minaj criticized the court’s verdict.
Rihanna tweeted, ‘This is the saddest news ever!!! #whatsjustice.’
Ice Cube wrote: ‘The Trayvon Martin verdict doesn’t surprise me. Stanford, FL never wanted Zimmerman arrested. Now he’s free to kill another child.’
![Trayvon Martin's girlfriend Rachel Jenteal testifies at trial. She was talking to him on his cell phone when Zimmerman shot him to death.](http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Rachel-Jeantel-300x168.jpg)
Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend Rachel Jenteal testifies at trial. She was talking to him on his cell phone when Zimmerman shot him to death.
American Idol judge and pop star Nicki Minaj wrote: ‘And our taxes paid for that trial. We just paid to see a murderer walk free after killing an innocent unarmed little boy. #GodBlessAmerica.’
Actors spoke out against the verdict as well, sending their prayers to the Martin family and expressing their disapproval of the court’s verdict.
HBO Girl’s star and writer Lena Dunham sent her condolences to the Martin family tweeting, ‘No. My heart is with Sybrina Fulton, Rachel Jeantel, everyone who loved Trayvon and has been sent the message that his life didn’t matter.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2362829/George-Zimmerman-verdict-Hundreds-voice-disappointment-Trayvon-Martin-case.html#ixzz2Z2OT4KgC
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TRAYVON MARTIN RALLIES PLANNED TO PROTEST ZIMMERMAN VERDICT
By Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel
10:52 a.m. EDT, July 14, 2013
Supporters of Trayvon Martin will host a rally Sunday afternoon outside the Seminole County Courthouse to protest the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.
The Coalition of Justice for Trayvon is calling for nationwide protests.
“The protests will look toward a New America, where black and brown youth are protected by the justice system and racial oppression is ended,” the organizers’ news statement said.
The Coalition, comprised of student groups and community members from across Florida, will organize a rally at 3 p.m. outside the courthouse on Bush Boulevard in Sanford.
“The organizers feel that the entire system has failed to bring justice, and that the youth have gained a new resolve to move beyond this case and to end racial oppression for good,” the news statement said.
Meanwhile, another group is calling for a statewide day of action in Florida for Trayvon Martin for later in the week.
Dream Defenders said it will be demonstrating outside the Capitol building and other locations Tuesday to organize “pressure” in response to the Zimmerman verdict and “other civil rights issues in the state of Florida.”
In a statement issued Sunday, Dream Defenders said: “Our thoughts are with Trayvon Martin’s family, who unfortunately will never have their son back. This is a true American tragedy for every child, mother, father, brother and sister in the nation. This is a reminder that our communities still find themselves profiled, targeted and oppressed each day. The battle for true Justice in an unequal society is never simple. Florida has taken another one of ours. We must hold on to our anger in the face of the injustice and let the feelings of love for our community push us forward in fixing our broken society. We will never forget his name.”
Acquittal — July 13, 2013
by Mumia Abu-Jamal
July 8, 2013 – By the time these words reach you, perhaps it will all be over. “It” is the Zimmerman trial in Florida.
I have no idea what the ratings are for CNN, nor CNBC, for that matter, but I’d bet they’re pretty elevated from their usual summer viewership.
In this place of prison population, every man with a mouth wants to discuss the case. In the chow hall. On the walk ways. In the gym. On the yard. Not even the buxom (and buttsome) beauties of “Love and Hip Hop” have garnered that much attention.
“Are you watching the trial?” “Who do you think is gonna win?” Questions bounce like basketballs, as all eyes are locked on this, the latest “trial of the century.”
The trial of George Zimmerman for the homicide of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has snatched a level of public attention that hasn’t been seen since the mid-‘90s – in other words, the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
I believe, frankly, that Zimmerman will be acquitted. I may be wrong – but I don’t think so.
I’ve never seen a defense lawyer utilize, so skillfully, the ju-jitsu-style techniques of witness flipping. In all honesty, the state’s prosecution witnesses became defense witnesses.
And where the defense was adroit, the prosecutor bumbled and fumbled.
I may be wrong – I hope I’m wrong – but I don’t think I am.
We shall see.
© Copyright 2013 Mumia Abu-Jamal. Read Mumia’s latest book, “The Classroom and the Cell: Conversations on Black Life in America,” co-authored by Columbia University professor Marc Lamont Hill, available from Third World Press, TWPBooks.com. Keep updated at www.freemumia.com. For Mumia’s commentaries, visit www.prisonradio.org. For recent interviews with Mumia, visit www.blockreportradio.com. Encourage the media to publish and broadcast Mumia’s commentaries and interviews. Send our brotha some love and light: Mumia Abu-Jamal, AM 8335, SCI-Mahanoy, 301 Morea Road, Frackville, PA 17932.
STAND WITH TRAYVON MARTIN RALLY– DETROIT
SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2013 6 PM GRAND CIRCUS PARK
Please join local community organizations in peaceful protest in memory of Trayvon Martin in this time of injustice. Let this meeting also serve as a springboard for coalition building in Detroit around systemic inequalities and oppression. Hoodies are welcome!