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Photos: Thousands Want "Justice For Trayvon" At One Police Plaza
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 21, 2013
Modified Jul 21, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 21, 2013
Modified Jul 21, 2013
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Yesterday, Sybrina Fulton spoke to New Yorkers about the killing of her son Trayvon Martin at a "Justice for Trayvon" vigil outside One Police Plaza, telling them, "He was a child. Don’t take my word for it. He had a drink and candy."
Her appearance comes a week after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot her son last year. Trayvon, 17, had been returning to his father's girlfriend's home in Sanford, Florida after buying Skittles and iced tea when Zimmerman, who felt the teen was suspicious, decided to follow him, and eventually killed him.
Fulton continued to say, "Trayvon was a child, and I think sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle, because as I sat in the courtroom, it made me think that they were talking about another man. And it wasn’t. It was a child." Here are some of her remarks from before the vigil, "Of course we’re hurting. Of course we’re shocked and disappointed, but that just means that we have to roll up our sleeves and continue to fight":
She also reminded, "Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours."
The Reverend Al Sharpton, who organized vigils across the country through his National Action Network, said, "Racial profiling is not as bad as segregation, but you don't know the humiliation of being followed in a department store," a nod to President Obama's remarks on Friday. He added, "I'd never heard of Sanford. But I heard too many times of stories where people are killed and treated like they are worthless, and it was a sense of justice that we said that this man should not be let go."
Protesters made their way from One Police Plaza across the Brooklyn Bridge towards the Barclays Center, with motorists honking their horns and yelling their support. Sharpton also announced he would organize a protest in Washington D.C. next month, "to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech."
Tagged
al sharpton
civil rights
george zimmerman
justice for trayvon
racial profiling
rally
reverend al sharpton
sybrina fulton
trayvon martin
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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