Marches across the country demands civil rights charges against Zimmerman
Story Transcript
OSCAR LEÓN, TRNN PRODUCER: Today, Saturday July 20, a journey of protest was held nationwide. In Los Angeles, California, a few hundred people from community organizations and activist coalitions gathered outside the Federal courts building to protest for the liberation of George Zimmerman.
This are the voices of those who where there.
UNIDENTIFIED: Sometimes when you win you actually lose, and sometimes when you lose you actually win. Zimmerman now has to wear, ironically, a hoodie to hide his face every day. The killing of a–think about it. The killing of a teenager by a man is morally wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED: It’s racial. It was racial. Yes, I truly believe in my heart it was racial.
UNIDENTIFIED: Unfortunately, America has a tragic racist history. And the mindset of so many people is governed by those racist perspectives.
UNIDENTIFIED: I just want to say that Trayvon Martin had the same right to be where he was as any [incompr.] to go to a public store to buy some bubblegum. Trayvon Martin had a right to be where he was the same as Rosa Park had to sit on that bus and not get up and move to the back. Trayvon Martin had the same right that Medgar Evers had to pull up in his driveway to go home and greet his kids. Trayvon has a right to justice.
And what I want America to know: it took us 30 years, a generation, to get Byron Beckwith convicted. It took 30 years. But we did not stop.
CROWD: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
LEÓN: The outrage crossed racial borders.
UNIDENTIFIED: I think if the tables were turned, if Zimmerman was black and Trayvon was white, I think Zimmerman would most definitely be in prison. I don’t think–if Trayvon was white, I don’t think he would have been followed or been a person of suspicion in the first place.
UNIDENTIFIED: This type of thinking is the base for a society that’s based on discrimination and racism. And sometimes we don’t even know. And we’re doing–we’re supporting the system.
LEÓN: President Obama spoke to the nation the day before the rallies, pledging to the “I am Trayvon Martins” campaign. But then he also asked for acceptance of the verdict acquitting Zimmerman.
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: I can only imagine what they’re going through, and it’s remarkable how they’ve handled it.
The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there are going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case. I’ll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this, reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury’s spoken, that’s how our system works.
LEÓN: Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, spoke to a crowd in New York.
SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN’S MOTHER: –the verdict won’t stop here. This is another chapter on a different movement. We have moved on from the verdict. Of course we’re hurting. Of course we’re shocked and disappointed. But that just means that we have to roll up our sleeves and continue to fight.
LEÓN: Reuters reported there where dozens of marches all around the country, and thousands gathered in cities like Chicago and New York and D.C.
Reporting from Los Angeles, California, for the Real News, this is Oscar León.
End
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
Story Transcript
OSCAR LEÓN, TRNN PRODUCER: Today, Saturday July 20, a journey of protest was held nationwide. In Los Angeles, California, a few hundred people from community organizations and activist coalitions gathered outside the Federal courts building to protest for the liberation of George Zimmerman.
This are the voices of those who where there.
UNIDENTIFIED: Sometimes when you win you actually lose, and sometimes when you lose you actually win. Zimmerman now has to wear, ironically, a hoodie to hide his face every day. The killing of a–think about it. The killing of a teenager by a man is morally wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED: It’s racial. It was racial. Yes, I truly believe in my heart it was racial.
UNIDENTIFIED: Unfortunately, America has a tragic racist history. And the mindset of so many people is governed by those racist perspectives.
UNIDENTIFIED: I just want to say that Trayvon Martin had the same right to be where he was as any [incompr.] to go to a public store to buy some bubblegum. Trayvon Martin had a right to be where he was the same as Rosa Park had to sit on that bus and not get up and move to the back. Trayvon Martin had the same right that Medgar Evers had to pull up in his driveway to go home and greet his kids. Trayvon has a right to justice.
And what I want America to know: it took us 30 years, a generation, to get Byron Beckwith convicted. It took 30 years. But we did not stop.
CROWD: No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace!
LEÓN: The outrage crossed racial borders.
UNIDENTIFIED: I think if the tables were turned, if Zimmerman was black and Trayvon was white, I think Zimmerman would most definitely be in prison. I don’t think–if Trayvon was white, I don’t think he would have been followed or been a person of suspicion in the first place.
UNIDENTIFIED: This type of thinking is the base for a society that’s based on discrimination and racism. And sometimes we don’t even know. And we’re doing–we’re supporting the system.
LEÓN: President Obama spoke to the nation the day before the rallies, pledging to the “I am Trayvon Martins” campaign. But then he also asked for acceptance of the verdict acquitting Zimmerman.
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: I can only imagine what they’re going through, and it’s remarkable how they’ve handled it.
The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there are going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case. I’ll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this, reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury’s spoken, that’s how our system works.
LEÓN: Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, spoke to a crowd in New York.
SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN’S MOTHER: –the verdict won’t stop here. This is another chapter on a different movement. We have moved on from the verdict. Of course we’re hurting. Of course we’re shocked and disappointed. But that just means that we have to roll up our sleeves and continue to fight.
LEÓN: Reuters reported there where dozens of marches all around the country, and thousands gathered in cities like Chicago and New York and D.C.
Reporting from Los Angeles, California, for the Real News, this is Oscar León.
End
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
