Sanford, FL – Defying rain, hateful counter-protesters and the Florida summer heat, more than 70 people on the 126-mile Walk for Dignity held a rally at the Trayvon Martin memorial in Sanford on July 27.

Protesters came from across Florida and other Southern states to demand the resignation of State Attorney Angela Corey and the immediate release of Marissa Alexander. Alexander is an African-American woman who got 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot in the air to fend off her abusive husband. Both Alexander and Zimmerman were prosecuted by Corey’s office.

The Walk for Dignity began on July 22 in Jacksonville, Florida. It spanned five days and passed through Saint Augustine, Bunnel and Daytona Beach before arriving in Sanford, where the Zimmerman trial took place.

“The march showed how we lead as a collective and how we can create systems to look out for each other as we walk our streets,” said Estefania Galvis, an activist who walked all five days to Sanford. “The people who walked are affected by the same oppressive system that put Marissa Alexander in prison. The people who walked identify Angela Corey as the representative of the judicial system incarcerating Black and Brown people. The long walk shows that we will do anything – march, scream, walk in the heat or rain – to demand justice, dignity and a new system for our communities.”

Organized by the Southern Movement Assembly, an alliance of activist groups around the South, and anchored by the Jacksonville-based New Jim Crow Movement, the walk brought together protesters from many states. Members from Project South, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Southerners on New Ground, the Ordinary People Society, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Coalition for Justice for Trayvon Martin, Alternate Roots and several other organizations walked or joined the assembly along the way.

The Walk For Dignity arrived at the Hickory Avenue Church of God in Sanford, which opened their doors to the scores of protesters to sleep, eat and hold assemblies. Throughout the walk, many African American churches provided food, shelter and supplies to the walkers. In Saint Augustine at the end of the first day, the walkers stayed at Saint Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rallied with civil rights protesters against segregation in 1964.

The walkers spent the afternoon of July 27 going door-to-door in Sanford’s predominantly African American neighborhoods talking with the people about their struggles. Many spoke about their experiences with racist police officers, while others spoke about relatives victimized by the criminal injustice system. Organizers from the Southern Movement Assembly invited Sanford residents out to the church to speak with others about their experiences.

“It’s a new thing for me to get involved, and see what it takes to get organized,” said Moses Daniels, a longtime resident of Sanford, who came out to the assembly after an organizer invited him on his doorstep. “I see things going on in Sanford, and I hear us all talk about it, but when it comes to doing something – to stand our ground – I didn’t know what it takes to stop the attacks.”

After a short assembly about organizing to fight racism, activists gathered in front of the church to start a mile march into historic Goldsboro to the Trayvon Martin memorial. As the second city after Eatonville founded by African Americans in Florida, Goldsboro was stripped of its charter by whites in the Sanford city government in 1911. The City of Sanford eliminated the Black-owned businesses and institutions of Goldsboro as a part of expanding racist Jim Crow laws. In 1923, whites infamously burned a similar town, Rosewood, Florida, to the ground after African Americans attempted to defend their families from white vigilantes. Today, Goldsboro remains predominantly African American and strongly supports justice for Trayvon Martin.

As afternoon storm clouds rolled off Lake Monroe in Sanford, the protesters marched on undeterred. Activists held several banners, reading “Walk for Dignity – enough is enough!” and “We will not be erased,” with the latter bearing the images of Trayvon Martin, Marissa Alexander, Jordan Davis and other youth victimized by the criminal injustice system. Many Sanford residents came outside their homes to watch and then joined the protesters in the streets.

With about a half mile to go, rain began to pour. Despite booming thunder and a constant downpour, not a single protester left the march. Chants of “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Angela Corey’s got to go!” and “Free Marissa now!” grew louder as the march approached the Trayvon Martin memorial. The storm passed and protesters spoke about the significance of the long march. Several Sanford residents spoke about their experiences with racial profiling.

Although every protester was soaked, spirits were high. “We started together, and we finished together,” sang Aleta Alston-Toure, an organizer with the New Jim Crow Movement in Jacksonville. Alston-Toure led a freedom song from the South African anti-apartheid struggle, and others paid tribute to fallen African American leaders like Malcolm X and Ella Baker.

Staff from the Goldsboro Westside Historical Museum warmly received the marchers with shelter from the rain and food. The Trayvon Martin Memorial, a brick and marble formation located at the Museum, was moved from the actual location of Trayvon Martin’s death. Several racist Zimmerman supporters and local police sabotaged the memorial six times, but the African-American community in Sanford united to defend it. Eventually, it was moved to the Goldsboro Westside Historical Museum and cared for by staff.

Activists see the Walk for Dignity and the July 27 march as a starting point for the movement against racism and national oppression across the country, while residents in Sanford felt empowered by the outside support. There is a call for a national march in Washington D.C. on August 24.

“I’m hopeful about the freedom movement in Sanford and everywhere,” said Daniels. “You have to give the movement some structure, so it’s impressive to me to be a part of an organization that seeks to make change happen.”

#SanfordFL #OppressedNationalities #AntiRacism #TrayvonMartin #GeorgeZimmerman #InjusticeSystem #NewJimCrow #SouthernMovementAssembly #WalkForDignity

Jacksonville, FL – Even the summer afternoon rain couldn’t stop more than 25 activists from meeting in downtown Jacksonville’s Hemming Plaza, July 22, to begin a five-day walk to Sanford, Florida. Activists took the first steps in the “Walk for Dignity – Enough is Enough” event, demanding justice for Trayvon Martin and the resignation of State Attorney Angela Corey, who prosecuted the George Zimmerman case.

Called by the Southern Movement Assembly, a network of activist groups around the South that met in Jacksonville last April, the walk will end with a large rally in Sanford. Activists from the Jacksonville-based New Jim Crow Movement, Project South, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Coalition for Justice for Trayvon, Southerners on New Ground and other organizations are participating in the walk.

“We recognize that people are feeling outrage and heartbreak after hearing a verdict that legitimizes the public lynching of Trayvon Martin and the impunity of his murderers,” said Emery Wright, the co-director of Project South in a statement about the walk. “Our response must not be restrained. Our collective response must be ‘Enough is enough’ – our human dignity is at stake, and we will come together to demand fundamental change.”

The walk began with an energetic assembly, in which each of the walkers spoke about their reasons for participating. Activists from as far as San Antonio, Texas spoke, as did walkers from Jacksonville, all uniting around the demand for justice for Trayvon Martin and other African-American youth victimized by the racist criminal injustice system.

“We walk for dignity,” said Synobia Williams, an organizer with Project South from Jacksonville. “We walk to lift our voices and be heard, demand the rights of all people and stand our ground.”

Organizers worked to mobilize community support in Jacksonville for the walk. Several labor unions, including AFSCME and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, along with some local businesses donated water, food, coolers and other supplies.

On the first day, the protesters walked to Saint Augustine and stayed at the Saint Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rallied with civil rights protesters in 1964. During the Civil Rights Movement, Saint Augustine became the center of the battle against segregation.

Throughout the walk, activists hope to engage the communities in the movement for justice for Trayvon Martin and build towards the final rally in Sanford. “We are all committed to walk while we engage and empower the communities that we stop in by listening to their stories,” said Tefa Galvis, an organizer with the Coalition for Justice for Trayvon. “We’re all learning about the history of the land and the freedom movement in Florida and we’re assembling every night to figure out the next steps for our movement.”

Caravans of activists from Jacksonville will leave every day to join the walk in-progress.

The walkers plan to stop in Flagler Beach and Daytona Beach before reaching Sanford for the final rally on July 27.

“We started together and we are going to finish together,” added Galvis.

#JacksonvilleFL #OppressedNationalities #AntiRacism #CivilRights #TrayvonMartin #GeorgeZimmerman #InjusticeSystem #WalkForDignity