Updates from Sanford and Around the Country:
The Trial of Trayvon's Killer
— The People's Demand for Justice
Editor's note: Tyisha Miller was a 19-year-old African-American woman shot dead by Riverside, California police in 1998. Miller had been passed out in her car, resulting from a seizure, when police claimed that she suddenly awoke and had a gun; they fired 23 times at her, hitting her at least 12 times, and murdering her. Bob Avakian addressed this.
If you can't handle this situation differently than this, then get the fuck out of the way. Not only out of the way of this situation, but get off the earth. Get out of the way of the masses of people. Because, you know, we could have handled this situation any number of ways that would have resulted in a much better outcome. And frankly, if we had state power and we were faced with a similar situation, we would sooner have one of our own people's police killed than go wantonly murder one of the masses. That's what you're supposed to do if you're actually trying to be a servant of the people. You go there and you put your own life on the line, rather than just wantonly murder one of the people. Fuck all this "serve and protect" bullshit! If they were there to serve and protect, they would have found any way but the way they did it to handle this scene. They could have and would have found a solution that was much better than this. This is the way the proletariat, when it's been in power has handled—and would again handle—this kind of thing, valuing the lives of the masses of people. As opposed to the bourgeoisie in power, where the role of their police is to terrorize the masses, including wantonly murdering them, murdering them without provocation, without necessity, because exactly the more arbitrary the terror is, the more broadly it affects the masses. And that's one of the reasons why they like to engage in, and have as one of their main functions to engage in, wanton and arbitrary terror against the masses of people.
BAsics 2:16
On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin dead and walked free. But all over the country, tens of thousands took to the streets in protest and then, more than six weeks after the horrible crime, Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder. The trial is scheduled to start June 10 and millions of people, all over the country—and the world—will be looking to see what is going to happen... and whether or not there will be justice for Trayvon Martin.
A team of reporters from Revolution newspaper is there!—to cut through the lies and cover-ups, to provide stories and analysis that no other reporters will do. We've seen how the mainstream news has covered this story—giving George Zimmerman a constant platform to spin out his lies and deceit. And we've seen the importance and power of the voices of the people in Sanford—their anger, their stories and insights. Reporters from Revolution will be bringing this into the coverage as the trial begins, getting out into the community of Sanford, and wherever there are signs of discontent and protest, talking to the people and bringing these interviews to the rest of the world.
The Trial of Trayvon's Killer, the People's Demand for Justice
Voices from Goldsboro
It's June 9, 2013, the day before the start of the trial of George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in 2012. I'm down here in Sanford, Florida with a crew that includes people from the Stop Mass Incarceration Network and revolutionaries. It's Sunday and this morning people had gone out to Goldsboro, the historic Black community in Sanford. They took out two big banners to one of the churches.
Trial of Trayvon Martin's killer begins
All eyes on Sanford, Florida
by Li Onesto
Sanford, Florida, June 9—People poured into the streets after the murder of Trayvon Martin in February 2012 because they saw that this was NOT an isolated incident, that it was yet another killing in a long history of Black youth gunned down by racist vigilantes or brutal police. And people were determined that this time, the killer would NOT go free. After that outpouring, George Zimmerman was arrested and is now going to trial.
That anger has not gone away. People across society remain outraged over the cruel death of a young Black male and are determined that there be justice in this case.
Urgent Challenge to Readers:
Donate to Maintain the Presence of revcom.us in Sanford, Florida!
June 12, 2013—What if… at this moment when the eyes of the world are on the trial of the killer of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, those eyes were seeing photos and reading, hearing or watching interviews in mainstream media that put a focus on revcom.us!
And what if those eyes were being challenged to go to revcom.us for exposure, analysis, and connection to a whole radical alternative to this system, and the revolutionary leadership to make that possible.
We are not challenging you to donate funds to get that off the ground—IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
This is a call for funds to sustain and continue the presence and promotion of revcom.us in Sanford!
June 10: Report from Sanford
June 12, 2013
On June 10, the trial of George Zimmerman was set to begin at 9 am at the Seminole County Criminal Courthouse. In the front of the building a whole line of press was set up with their cameras pointing to the front doors. Suddenly a group marched onto the scene—a delegation from the Stop Mass Incarceration Network and supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Chants rang out: "Trayvon did not have to die. We all know the reason why. The whole system is guilty!" "Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, No More Youth Getting Killed. The Whole System Is Guilty!"
Chicago, Hoodie Day, June 10, 2013. Photo: Special to Revolution
June 10, 2013—Reports from National Hoodie Day
Determined and Defiant Protesters Demand JUSTICE for Trayvon Martin
Updated June 13, 2013
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Harlem and Union Square in NYC
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Chicago
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SF Bay Area
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Los Angeles
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Houston, Detroit and Cleveland
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National Hoodie Day from news reports…
Voices from Sanford, Florida
Opening Day of Zimmerman Trial: We are All Trayvon Martin! We Demand Justice!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Correspondents from Revolution newspaper have been out in the community in Sanford getting a feel for how people are seeing the trial, and the situation people face. The following notes are from their interviews:
Orlando Sentinel: “Communists gather to protest on eve of Trayvon Martin trial”
On June 9, the online edition of the Orlando Sentinel—the largest circulation newspaper in Central Florida, ran an article titled “Communists gather to protest on eve of Trayvon Martin trial” along with a photo of revolutionaries and others displaying BAsics 1:13 from Avakian.
Storm Brewing in Sanford
Sunday, June 9, 2013 | From a member of the Revolution reporting team
As Tropical Storm Andrea moved through Florida, a crew of revolutionaries rolled into a new storm, Sanford, Florida. White supremacy and the oppression of Black people have battered the people of Sanford for years: from slavery to Jim Crow, to the New Jim Crow of mass incarceration. One year ago, lightning struck in the form of George Zimmerman's 9mm bullet. Seventeen-year-old, Trayvon Martin lay dead. Zimmerman walked out the back door of the Sanford police station, alive and free. Growls of thunderous outrage rolled throughout the country as news of Trayvon's murder came to light. Thousands of people rolled into Sanford and into streets around the country chanting WE ARE ALL TRAYVON! This storm was far too big to ignore. In an effort to calm the storm, the police arrested and charged George Zimmerman with the murder of Trayvon. The people felt victorious.
Trial of Trayvon Martin's Killer Begins
All Eyes on Sanford, Florida
Thursday June 6, 2013 | by Li Onesto
I'm on the plane, on my way to Sanford, Florida to cover the opening day of the trial of George Zimmerman—the racist vigilante who murdered Trayvon Martin.
People poured into the streets after the murder of Trayvon Martin because they saw that this was NOT an isolated incident, that it was yet another killing in a long history of Black youth gunned down by racist vigilantes or brutal police. And people were determined that this time, the killer would NOT go free. After this George Zimmerman was arrested and is now going to trial.
That anger has not gone away. People across society remain outraged over the cruel death of a young Black male, and are determined that there be justice in this case.
What Does It Mean to Call for "Calm" in the Face of Injustice?
Friday, June 7, 2013
Together with the open threats of repression by the authorities, a group of local Black pastors have been working with the U.S. Department of Justice since the murder of Trayvon Martin. They say their mission is to "try to keep everyone calm."