Milwaukee, WI – The movement to win justice for Darius Simmons, Derek Williams, Corey Stingley, and Bo Morrison has received a boost from the national attention and outrage over the “not guilty” verdict for Zimmerman. Last week over 300 people shut down major streets in downtown Milwaukee. In similar cases over the last two years, community members led by the Occupy Coalition (Occupy the Hood Milwaukee and Occupy Milwaukee) repeatedly rallied for Derek Williams, Darius Simmons, and other local victims of racist police and vigilante murder.
Tallahassee, FL – After three days of occupying the governor’s office in the Florida capitol building, protesters demanding justice for Trayvon Martin finally secured a meeting with Governor Rick Scott, July 19. Scott met for about 45 minutes with several leaders from Dream Defenders, a student activist organization led by Black and Latino youth. He refused to give into any of the protesters’ demands.
Clarksville, TN – 15 people rallied outside the public library on July 15 to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. People spoke about their outrage that racist murderer George Zimmerman was found not guilty of all charges and of their desire to see him punished for his crime.
Raleigh, NC – On Monday, July 15, over 1500 rallied at the capitol again for the 11th installment of Moral Monday, chanting, “Forward together, not one step back!” Organized by the NAACP (http://www.naacpnc.org/), this week’s rally was focused on demanding an end to the Republican legislature’s attacks on women and demanding an end to racial oppression.
Minneapolis, MN – Thousands of people gathered here, July 15, in the Peoples Plaza in front of the Hennepin County Government Center, to demand justice for Trayvon Martin, Terrance Franklin and all victims of police brutality.
Winston-Salem, NC – On July 16, nearly 1000 people came together on Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. to rally in solidarity of Trayvon Martin and to express their outrage at racist vigilante George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict. The event was organized by Nicole Little, of the Daryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice.
Green Bay, WI – A group of about 30 protesters, many from the black community, came out to the Brown County Courthouse July 16 to protest the not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin killing. Members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Occupy Green Bay were in attendance, along with a diverse group of members of the community.
Jacksonville, FL – About 400 people rallied, July 14, at Hemming Plaza in downtown Jacksonville to protest the outrageous not guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman.
Salt Lake City, UT – In response to the not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, protesters took to the streets here. Rallying at the Matheson Courthouse, over 200 activists and community members came together to express their outrage and frustration with the American justice system.
On July 13, an almost all-white jury ruled that George Zimmerman was not guilty on all charges for the murder of Trayvon Martin. While saddened and angered by this verdict, we were not surprised that the U.S. so-called ‘justice system’ has again said that racist cops and vigilantes like Zimmerman have a green light to shoot and kill African Americans.
