“Justice for Trayvon!” echoed from the “highest of seven hills” for all of Tallahassee to hear, Monday morning.
Students of Florida A&M organized a last minute rally after a protest in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin to Sanford, Fla. was canceled.
A circle was formed on the Set around speakers, students and Tallahassee activists, who vented their frustrations with Martin’s case. Students signed petitions to encourage city lawmakers to review his case.
Among the speakers was prominent Tallahassee attorney, Chuck Hobbs.
Almost 60 students bonded while sharing similar opinions about his shooter, George Zimmerman, who has not been charged with a crime at this point.
Stories of racial profiling brought back ill emotions as students reflected on painful experiences.
Update composed by Angie Meus
Students at Florida A&M rallied for justice on “The Set” for the recently slain Trayvon Martin.
17-year-old Martin was shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, on Feb. 26. Zimmerman has not been charged for the teenager’s murder.
Monday morning, students held signs and passed around petitions for Zimmerman’s arrest. They said that they will not stop until justice is served.
Ciara Taylor, a fourth-year political science student from Vero Beach, Fla., said there were plans for students to rally in Sanford, Fla. the city where Martin was killed, but FAMU denied their request.
“Your school, your institution could have given us buses to go to Sanford today, but they said that FAMU neither supports nor doesn’t support the Trayvon case.” “That means that they don’t support our actions to demand for Zimmerman’s arrest.”
However, Taylor said that students must continue to fight until Martin receives his due justice.
“We have to be proactive. We have to demand justice for Trayvon and justice for our people,” said Taylor as she spoke to the crowd.
“Trayvon Martin was a student just like me,” said Markayla Carson, a first-year business administration student from Birmingham, Ala. “It could’ve happened to any black person just walking out in the neighborhood.”
Matthew Holt, a third-year political science student from Tampa, Fla., feels it is vital for people to support Martin’s case.
“Some of the things that we deal with when it comes to the justice system are uncalled for,” said Holt who is also president of FAMU’s chapter of the NAACP. “The fact that this little boy was slaughtered with a bag of skittles and a juice is absolutely ridiculous.”