Gainesville, FL – On Feb. 26, University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), allied with other student and community organizations, will organize a local action demanding justice for Trayvon Martin, a black youth who was brutally murdered by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida on Feb. 26, 2012.

On the one-year anniversary of Martin’s murder, national SDS is calling for a day of action to demand that George Zimmerman receive a guilty verdict for murder of the second degree. SDS will also be demanding the immediate repeal of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

On Feb. 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot from a distance by the racist vigilante George Zimmerman. Despite committing no crime, Martin was murdered by Zimmerman for “looking suspicious”, in what is surely an extreme consequence of racial profiling. Many days passed before Zimmerman was officially arrested, and to this day he has yet to stand trial.

The murder of Trayvon Martin is a clear and flagrant example of the systematic racism prevalent in this country. Students for a Democratic Society stands against all forms of discrimination and racist violence and joins the rest of the nation in demanding that George Zimmerman be convicted for murder in his trial, which is set for June 10.

On Feb. 26, UF students and Gainesville organizers will host a demonstration at 6:30 p.m., alongside other universities in Florida. SDS is asking participants to wear black in solidarity with Martin’s family. The Gainesville demonstration will be organized as a speak-out against systemic racism and it will be held at Bo Diddley Plaza.

University of Florida SDS will be tabling beside a Trayvon Martin memorial tent in Turlington Plaza both Feb. 25 and 26 in preparation for this event.

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