Demonstrations in support of Trayvon Martin grew in both size and intensity Sunday night as protesters in some of America’s largest cities continued expressing their anger at the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
After the not guilty verdict was returned by the jury in the trial of George Zimmerman, spontaneous protest marches were staged overnight in many of the major cities in the US, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta.
Civil rights activists and community leaders, fearing outbreaks of violence, appealed to the citizenry for calm, and Trayvon Martin’s parents, who have long called for non-violent demonstrations, added their voice to those requests.
In Denver, Several hundred people attended a rally in front of the Martin Luther King memorial in City Park. Representative Angela Williams (D-Denver) said, “We are here to pray and we are hear to stand for justice.”
In California, a protest in South Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of at least one person when police and protestors clashed on Sunday night. LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith said demonstrators “demonstrator threw rocks and D-cell batteries at police near the corner of Washington Boulevard and 10th Avenue. Police responded by firing less-than-lethal rounds at the demonstrators.”
Demonstrators in the Mid-City area were also responsible for blocking traffic on the 10 Freeway. No arrests were made, and according to authorities no one was hurt. Sources report that a “splinter group of a larger protest walked down an onramp to the 10 Freeway and stood mostly in the eastbound lanes.” Photos of the protest showed both sides of the 10 Freeway blocked and demonstrators milling about on the freeway.
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Although protests in Oakland turned violent on Saturday, nearly all of Sunday’s protests were peaceful while still being emotionally charged.
Thousands of demonstrators marched from Union Square in New York City to the tourist-heavy Times Square Sunday night, slowing and in some cases halting traffic.
You can also watch the protests in New York City and see more photos from the Los Angeles protests here.
Photo: Associated Press
I do not doubt, that many, the majority of protesters are peaceful – however those who are not are dangerous and it cannot be allowed that stores are looted, cars are damaged, white people are attacked, windows are smashed with bricks and so on. This is clearly hooligan behavior.
Another form of violence are threats – it’s not only Zimmerman who is receiving death threats, his lawyers also received death threads, and even his parents had to move away from their home and are now in hiding. – Death threats cannot be justified as protests under any circumstances.
Yohan Obviously there are many forms of unacceptable violence that occur daily in America. You choose to focus on what is important to you.I have hunted by a corrupt criminal justice my whole life so,I probably have different priorities than you on this issue.When people expect me,as the hunted,to be more honest,caring and considerate than the corrupt cowards who have been brutalizing me my whole life,I naturally,have a difficult time hearing that message.This is exactly the kind of social breakdown one should expect when authority is out of control.
Yohan Well,it depends on which protests one is speaking of. There are plenty of docile blackfolk on bended praying for a miracle instead of making their own.
John That would be nice and I might add honesty and self reflection to the mix.If that is done we would notice that violence and the denial of it has always been a problem in American culture.We talk about black on black violence but fail to address white on white violence in all of its permutations.Feminists point fingers at men,saying they are responsible for ALL violence,while ignoring the violence of women.Lesbians also ignore woman on woman violence,but never fail to point fingers elsewhere.The history are flush with examples of violence and various kinds of abuse among whites with much of… Read more »
Demonstrations in support of Trayvon Martin…
I cannot call these people protesters, they are hooligans, breaking windows, jumping on cars, entering stores and looting them, attacking people because they are white, this is a riot and not a protest.
John What is your point exactly?
A call for consistency of thought.
I wonder how many of these people support the use of the battered women’s defense? I didn’t like the Zimmerman verdict based largely on the fact that he could have avoided the situation and didn’t attempt to use non-lethal force. I don’t like the battered women’s defense without a verifiable paper trail for the same reasons. How many of these people would hold a woman to the same standard? Did she get an order of protection? Why didn’t she leave him? Wasn’t he asleep at the time? Financial considerations, well how where your finances going to improve with him dead,… Read more »