Posted on 07/20/2013 9:44:43 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Neither Kathy Sanders nor her son, Rico, had ever attended a political rally before, but they joined thousands of people in downtown Atlanta Saturday afternoon to pay tribute to Trayvon Martin and call for an end to racial profiling.
“Showing this kind of togetherness, maybe we can make a change,” said Kathy, a College Park resident and U.S. Postal Service clerk.
Rico Sanders, home for the summer from Jacksonville State where he’s a senior and a shooting guard on the basketball team, was selling T-shirts; five dollars of each sold would be donated to the Trayvon Martin Foundation, he said.
For Dionna Smith, a U.S. Navy veteran standing several yards away, this also marked a first political rally. Smith, who held a sign stating "I am Trayvon Martin," said that she’d participated in parades and marches as a veteran, but never marched for a cause like this. Smith said she was “shocked” last week when George Zimmerman was found not guilty in Martin’s death, but added that whatever the trial’s outcome, Zimmerman will “never walk the earth as a free man; the guilt of shooting Trayvon Martin will stay on his conscience.”
Rally attendees chanted, sang along as gospel star Jennifer Holliday belted out “We Shall Overcome,” and listened to speaker after speaker and prayer after prayer—despite the heavy rain that started shortly after the rally began and fell steadily for more almost an hour. The block between the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building and Richard B. Russell Federal Center was a sea of umbrellas; those who had worn hoodies out of solidarity with Martin pulled up their hoods as the rain continued.
Martin Luther King III and his sister, Bernice, made a joint appearance as the rally headed into its second hour. Martin III reminded the crowd about the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of his father’s famous “Dream” speech, and its less-famous call for the government to make good on the “bad check” issued to its black citizens. “The check still has not been cashed,” said King’s son, adding that he had just come from an NAACP conference at which there had been discussion of “not consuming certain things, like orange juice, from Florida.”
Bernice King said Martin’s death was a “wake up call” to continue to fight for justice. “In many regards, we have fallen asleep,” she said. “God woke us up just in time.”
Reverend Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church where the Kings’ father and grandfather both preached, noted the hoodies among the crowd. “What’s so frightening about a black man in a hoodie in the rain?”he asked. On the other hand, he noted, “We have plenty of data to be worried when we see other folk moving through our neighborhood wearing hoods.”
Warnock called for stricter gun control laws. “We must move from stand your ground to common ground to common sense,” he said.
no thanks. i’ll stay with the law-abiding people who don’t burglarize other peoples’ homes, and train mma so that they can deliberately get into fights with other people.
The black community must learn that trustworthiness is earned. It cannot be commanded, demanded or legislated.
Who is there to teach that community? Jesse? Al?
Forget the Constitution? Never!
Wonder what the Trayvon Martin fund’s supposed to be used for?
How about fist control laws... shouldn’t they have cut Tray’s fists off after the first fist fight he was in (which wasn’t with Zimm). YES THIS IS SATIRE NO IT IS NOT SERIOUS
Martin’s mother stifled sobs as she told the crowd: “Not only I vow to do what I have to do for Trayvon Martin, I promise I’m going to work hard for your children as well.”
NOW..shes going to do what she cant do...and didnt to to TRAIN the miserable PUNK
She wants to work hard...for OTHER children as well now does she???
these protestors must have IQs resembling shoe sizes!
Wonder what the Trayvon Martin fund’s supposed to be used for?
to assurah that EAVEREE CHILE has his or her OWN Collection of Trayvonne Bling...inclduing Caps, T Shirts, Braceuhlets, .Arizona Iced Tea Tumblers..and like that!
Wonder what the Trayvon Martin fund’s supposed to be used for?
to assurah that EAVEREE CHILE has his or her OWN Collection of Trayvonne Bling...inclduing Caps, T Shirts, Braceuhlets, .Arizona Iced Tea Tumblers..and like that!
Some of those statements are just silly. This thing is getting ridiculous now..
The American people aren’t required to have high IQ’s, and relatively few seem so blessed.
Don’t slam people’s heads on concrete.
This wicked media has nothing better to do than to cover the lowest common denominator.
This is dumb.
With all the problems in the inner-city and among youth in their own communities to rally against “stand your ground” and the idea of self-defense is preposterous. To make a hero out of this kid who turned back and assaulted someone according to all the evidence is ridiculous.
Sharpton sure can pick them can’t he?
Salaries and admin costs for the get rich quick cheme.
“The Trayvon Martin Foundation”
Will they provide unlimited Skittles?
Smith, who held a sign stating “I am Trayvon Martin”
No, you’re not. And I’m not happy about sharing common ground with liars. Nor should you want to be TM. What is there to admire or emulate about this guy? There are high school aged young Blacks who were gunned down in gang violence...I believe there was one near me, in Richmond, CA about 2 years ago. Honor student, varsity football player. Why not emulate or commemorate someone like that? Why do you honor a teenage thug staying with relatives because his Mom can’t handle him and he’s been expelled from school? I just don’t this (outside of the obvious) If it’s your idea of some kind of righteousness to lie and say you are Trayvon, you’re making your own bed. You’re believing a lie, you are seeing with racist eyes and being led around by race pimps and showing you have no mind of your own. I don’t see where the common ground might be.
Second, If you wish “gun control” you stop the jaw boning and passing unconstitutional laws and have a Constitutional Convention to remove the 2nd Amendment - Good Luck with that one.
No one could say what was in Zimmerman's thought process at the time he pulled the trigger. I think a little guy like him vs a muscular large 17 year old who smoked MJ and “may” have had an illegal gun of his own per cell phone (not known to Z I know) does not show the dude was the angelic 12 year old in the MSM.
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