George Zimmerman to go on trial June 10
The People Demand Justice for Trayvon Martin!
May 12, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin dead and walked free. But then, all over the country, tens of thousands took to the streets in protest. The murder of Trayvon Martin touched the hearts of many millions around the country, connecting with the real-life experience and anger of millions of Black and Latino youth and their families who knew... it could have been me... it could have been my son... it could have been my brother... it could have been my friend. And it brought to mind the ghastly ghosts of America's past: the KKK, the lynching tree, the white racists who murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955.
There were protests all around the country, in large cities and small towns, with many thousands calling for justice. People of all different nationalities demonstrated, wearing hoodies, Skittles in hand, carrying signs that said, "We are all Trayvon Martin." Celebrities spoke out against the murder, and the NBA Players Union issued a statement with condolences to the Martin family and a call for Zimmerman's arrest. Finally, more than six weeks after this horrible crime, Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder.
Now, George Zimmerman is set to go to trial on June 10. Millions of people will be looking to see what is going to happen. But the people can't just sit back and hope that the "wheels of justice will turn." NO WAY! We've seen a million times the INjustice this system delivers and the people need to find all kinds of ways to have their voices heard at this critical time.
It was tremendously important—and it made a real difference—that tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand justice for Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman would be walking free today if this hadn't happened. And we saw how the INjustice system worked after the murder of Trayvon—how it let Zimmerman go free the night of the murder; how it tested Trayvon's dead body for drugs, but not Zimmerman; how it portrayed Zimmerman as the victim and Trayvon as a juvenile delinquent.
The modern-day American lynching of Trayvon Martin has put a big spotlight on the history and current reality of what it means to be a Black person in the United States of America. It raises big questions about whether things can be another way. And it has created a moment where many people might begin to see that this is NOT an isolated incident but only the latest in an endless chain of such acts perpetrated, condoned, and covered up by the powers-that-be. In such a situation we need to "fight the power, and transform the people, for revolution" and carry out work so that increasingly, people begin to see the real nature of, and question the very legitimacy of the whole system responsible for the murder of Trayvon Martin.
Mass, determined protest across the country, by people of all different nationalities and different sections of society, is crucial if there is to even be a chance at getting any kind of justice in the courtroom when George Zimmerman goes to trial. The people cannot let this murderer go free. The people must let it be known—loud and clear: WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON MARTIN!
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