San José, CA – On July 14, almost 100 protesters, more than half African American, marched through the streets of downtown San José to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who was on trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin. The protest began at the San José City Hall, where Reverend Houston of the House of San Kofa told the crowd, “It is necessary that our voices be heard!”

The protest was overwhelmingly of young people. A young African American women told Fight Back! that she works with children and thought about how it could be any one of them. “How will it be for my children when I have them?” she asked. Miriam Mosqueda, a member of the nearby San José State University MEXA and Native American Student Organization, said, “It is not right to kill someone and walk free. There is a lot of anger and it is important to come together, so change can come.” Another young African American woman told the crowd that, “We need to be courageous and fight – not just make statements on Twitter.”

The protesters then marched to the nearby federal building, filling the street along the way. With chants of “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” and “No justice, no peace! We’re taking over the streets!” the militancy of the crowd attracted honks and raised fists from cars passing by.

At the federal building, Masao Suzuki said that, “It was right to be here. The federal government cleared out the native peoples and oversaw their genocide. The federal government was founded on a constitution which said that Blacks were 3/5 of a person. The federal government put Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II, and now the federal government is deporting record numbers of immigrants, mainly Mexicans and Central Americans!”

The protest then marched backed to city hall, this time attracting more than half a dozen police cars, which forced the marchers on to the sidewalks. Back at city hall, there was a call to return the following Sunday, July 21, at 6:00 p.m. with even more people.

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