Just days after eight “not guilty” verdicts were handed down in the Martin Lee Anderson trial, the Student Coalition for Justice gathered in the Grand Ballroom Sunday night to plan their next move.
The coalition, which is made up of students from Florida A&M University, Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College, spent the night strategizing about ways to bring attention to what they call, a terrorist act.
“We’re still concerned about this,” said Vanessa Baden, 22, a senior sociology student at FSU and member of the coalition. “All of us really need to pull together now that the justice system has failed us.”
Baden, who helped lead the march on the capitol just minutes after the verdict was read, gave students a timeline of events in the case, starting with the day Anderson died, until Friday.
The coalition also offered up ideas to spread the word about what they called a “grave injustice.”
They urged students to call in to nationally syndicated radio shows such as the Doug Banks Show, Tom Joyner Morning Show and the Steve Harvey Show, and share their opinions on the verdict.
Coalition members also urged students to be on call, and ready to move at a moments notice.
With the parents of Martin Lee Anderson standing by his side, Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, urged students to boycott Panama City.
“Nobody should get into the water,” said Proctor, referring to the beach in Panama City. “No one should spend their spring break in Panama City because of the injustice of the terrorist act committed by the guards of Bay County.”
Proctor also called on the students to continue their efforts to bring awareness to the case saying, “It’s your moment. It’s your voice. This is your movement.”