Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin

Tonight in Union Square, in New York City, Daniel Maree, a supporter of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old African American teenager who was murdered three weeks ago in cold blood by self-appointed neighborhood "watch captain" George Zimmerman, in Sanford, Florida, with apparent impunity, organized the Million Hoodie March, beginning at 6 pm, followed by a march through the nearby streets of Manhattan to the United Nations Building. Seeking justice for Martin and his family, and the prosecution of Zimmerman, who has not been charged with any crime despite a growing body of evidence, including aural witnesses, 911-call recordings, what sounds like a racial epithet uttered before Zimmerman pursued Martin, and Zimmerman's own history of violence, paranoia and overreaction, the rally and march also coincided with the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. After an evening appointment, I headed over to Union Square, where the march had already begun.

I was not wearing a hoodie, but like so many who were present, like millions of people walking or driving around this country, I have been viewed with suspicion, including by the police, more than a few times in my 40+ years, no matter what I have had on, including a suit, in every city, town and suburb in which I have lived, from Saint Louis to Boston to Charlottesville to Chicago. I strongly support not only the demand for justice for Trayvon Martin and his family, but the related points Maree and others are making about racial profiling, presumption of guilt, a horrifically flawed justice system, and the lack of value placed on too many lives in this country.  It was clear from the immense, vocal energized crowd that quite a few others feel the same way. Many of those participating were young people perhaps not much older than Martin, but many were my age or older, and have witnessed such travesties of justice their entire lives. I don't know what the recent moves by the US Department of Justice concerning this case will have, but if this and similar marches push the Florida authorities to conduct a fuller investigation of the events leading up to and the moment and aftermath of Martin's death, and of Zimmerman's history, then they will be invaluable. We cannot bring Trayvon Martin back, but if we can prevent similar deaths, then every such action will be that much more worthwhile.

Here are a few photos (my apologies for their blurriness, but I snapped them with my iPhone and I have never been known for manual dexterity); I will post several videos I also recorded. If you haven't already done so and can, please sign the petition at Change.org, demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman. Maree would like for 1 million to sign it; so far 800,000 people have done so.

Approaching the Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin

A young man being interviewed about the rally as marchers pass by

On 14th St. in Manhattan

Photographer seeking a good angle on the march

"WE ARE ALL Trayvon Martin"

Marching westwards on 14th Street

The marchers on 6th Avenue

Along the march route

On 6th Avenue

Marchers stopped by a police bike cordon (the old Limelight at left)

Heading north (Empire State Bldg. visible at center)

Marchers shadowed by the police