July 17. 2013
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We theJury..
by D onovan
Page 7
Verdict stirs protests
and conversations
M. S mith
T he P ortland O bserver
“ We the ju ry find G eorge
Zim m erm an, not guilty.” Those
simple words rang out in a Florida
courtroom on Saturday, and ju st
like that neighborhood watch vol­
unteer, George Zim m erm an was
cleared in the shooting death of
an unarm ed A frican-A m erican
teenager.
Zim m erm an was charged with
second-degree m urder and the
lesser charge o f m anslaughter,
both felonies.
Thousands o f dem onstrators
from across the country, includ­
ing Portland, took to the streets in
protest o f the 6 -woman ju ry ’s
decision of acquittal — chanting,
praying and fighting tears. O rga­
nizers say they'll try to m aintain
the m om entum with vigils this
weekend.
A large crow d o f people gath­
ered in north Portland’s Penin­
sula Park to protest on Sunday.
The rally drew several community
Abdul Kebbeh, 6, holds a sign to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man that
lea d e rs, in c lu d in g the U rban
L eague o f P ortland p y p p u í í v p ShOt and killed Tray von Martin- Kebbeh was part of a protest that drew hundreds of people in a
Michael Alexander and State
R en
Michael Alexander, and State Rep.
Lew Frederick o f northeast Port-
land. Both voiced disappointm ent
in the verdict and called for people
t0 <^.man C an£e '
One w oman at the rally decried, “I
look around the city, there’s 11,000
people on a bike ride and there are
less than 200 people here today.”
R asheeda R ichards said she
wants to see justice and hopes “in
the future this doesn’t happen to
our black kids.”
18-year-old Chavon Cade was
not surprised by the verdict, but
said he was worried.
“W e’ve got to learn to stick to-
gether, we can’t stay at home and be
scared, Cade said.
Lifetime Portland resident Bonnie
Johnson, among other things, added
“W e’re still marching.”
march on the u-s - Courthouse in downtown Seattle Sunday. Protests over the verdict also rang out
¡n port¡and and other cjtjes (Ap hoto)
Rallies were largely peaceful
across the county as demonstra-
tors v°iced their support for 17-
year-old Trayvon Martin's family
and heavily decried the verdict.
In C alifornia, protesters ran
through Los Angeles streets Mon-
day night, breaking windows, at-
tacking people on sidewalks and
raiding a Wal-Mart store, while oth
ers blocked a major freeway in the
San Francisco Bay area in the third
night of demonstrations,
Fourteen people were arrested
aftermultiple acts of vandalism and
several assaults in Los Angeles'
Crenshaw District. One man was
seen in the street with a head injury
and a TV crew received minor inju-
ries in an assault.
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Advocates want federal civil
rights charges against Zimmerman,
The Rev. A1 Sharpton said Monday
that his organization will hold vigils
and rallies in 100 cities Saturday in
front of federal buildings.
The Justice Department has said
it's considering whether federal pros-
ecutors should file criminal civil
read.
Since the ruling has come down
both avoided speaking with the
media, but immediately following
the court’s decision on Saturday
Sabrina Fulton, Martin’smother sent
out a tweet urging for calm.
That urge for peaceful protest
has been m irrored by President
Barack Obama as well as a host of
other leaders.
At a service in Sanford, Fla., where
Zimmerman was tried, teens wear­
ing shirts with Martin's picture wiped
away tears during a church sermon.
In Philadelphia, about 700 pro­
testers m arched through dow n­
town to the Liberty Bell, alternat­
ing betw een chanting Trayvon
M artin's name and "No justice, no
peace!"
"We hope this will begin a move­
ment to end discrimination against
young black men," said Johnathan
Cooper, one of the protest's orga­
nizers. "And also to empower black
people and get them involved in the
system."
Atlanta a border-line away from
the state of the tragedy, about 75
protesters chanted and carried signs
near Centennial Olympic Park.
.c m u c u u n o u a y u e c a u s e a g re a t
"I came out today because a great
deal o f injustice has been done and
I'm very disappointed at our justice
system," said Tabatha Holley, 19, of
Atlanta
rightschargesnowthatZimmerman
has been acquitted in the state case,
The department opened an investí-
gation into Martin's death last year
but stepped aside to allow the state
prosecution to proceed,
"I'm ju s t d isa p p o in te d in
M artin’s parents though present
America."
throughout the trial, were not in the
—Associated Press contributed
courtroom when the verdict was to this report.
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