THOUSANDS OF DEMONSTRATORS SLAM U.S. DEMOCRACY IN VARIOUS CITIES
New York, 8 Ramadan 1434/15 July 2013 (MINA) – Thousands marched from Union Square to Times Square in New York criticized United States democracy after George Zimmerman, a local Neighbourhood Watch captain in Florida, was found not guilty for the death of black teenager Trayvon Martin.
Protests broke out in several cities in the United States on Sunday evening as people voiced their disappointment and frustration at the verdict.
“Trayvon’s dead, Zimmerman’s free, that’s what they call democracy,” protesters were chanting slogans.
Demonstration of 10,000 when it reaches Times Square, the Aljazeera quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
Meanwhile, The Times of India reported that with chants and prayers, sermons and signs, outrage over a jury’s decision to clear George Zimmerman in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager poured from street protests and church pulpits on Sunday.
Demonstrations large and small broke out across the country, in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Oakland and Philadelphia, ranging from a few dozen more than a thousand, in support of the family of Trayvon Martin as protesters decried the not guilty verdict Saturday night as “a miscarriage of justice”.
Martin was shot dead in February 2012 that a national debate in US about racial profiling, self defense and equal justice.
The Justice Department said it is looking into the case to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman has been acquitted in the state case.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and religious and civil rights leaders urged calm in hopes of ensuring peaceful demonstrations in the wake of a case that became an emotional flash point.
In San Francisco and Los Angeles – where an earlier protest was dispersed with beanbag rounds – police closed streets as protesters marched Sunday to condemn Zimmerman’s acquittal.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urged protesters to “practice peace” after groups of people broke off from a peaceful march and threw rocks and batteries at officers. Police arrested one man.
Rand Powdrill (41), of San Leandro, said he came to the San Francisco march with about 400 others to “protest the execution of an innocent black teenager.”
“If our voices can’t be heard, then this is just going to keep going on,” he said.
Earlier, at Manhattan’s Middle Collegiate Church, many congregants wore hooded sweatshirts – the same thing Martin was wearing the night he was shot – in a show of solidarity.
About 200 people turned out for a rally and march in downtown Chicago, saying the verdict was symbolic of lingering racism in the United States.
Maya Miller (73) said the case reminded her of the 1955 slaying of Emmitt Till, a 14-year-old from Chicago who was murdered by a group of white men while visiting Mississippi. Till’s killing galvanized the civil rights movement.
“I was really devastated. It’s really hard to believe that someone can take the life of someone else and walk out of court free,” Carol Reitner (76) of Miami.
In Philadelphia, about 700 protesters marched from Love Park to the Liberty Bell, alternating between chanting Trayvon Martin’s name and “No justice, no peace!”.
“We hope this will begin a movement to end discrimination against young black men,” said Johnathan Cooper, one of the protest’s organizers. “And also to empower black people and get them involved in the system.”
In Oakland, California, some angry demonstrators broke windows, burned U.S. flags and started street fires. Some marchers also vandalized a police squad car and used spray paint to scrawl anti-police graffiti on roads and Alameda County’s Davidson courthouse.
In Los Angeles, police said a crowd of about 100 protesters surrounded an officer and eventually had to be dispersed by officers firing beanbag rounds. (T/P09/P03).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
