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| Protest outside the American Embassy, London UK (Photo by Dee Constantine-Simms) |
It's a movement growing in strength and numbers.
Thousands carried signs and chanted in Sanford, Fla. on Saturday. They're demanding that police arrest the neighborhood watch volunteer who allegedly shot and killed Florida teen Trayvon Martin last month.
"In many ways, Trayvon's death was a kind of wake up call to pull the cover off a deep and growing body of racist practices in our country," Reverend Jesse Jackson said.
The alleged shooter, George Zimmerman, claims that an unarmed Martin attacked him and that he was acting in self defense. It's a story Martin's family doesn't believe, and neither do top American civil rights leaders, who spoke about racial profiling in America on Saturday.
"Shooting an innocent, unarmed young man is trouble. We are not the trouble makers. We're the trouble breakers. You act like killing innocent children is not trouble," Rev. Al Sharpton said. "You act like we are not going to rise up and stand together. If you shoot us in Sanford, it hits us in Harlem, it hits us in Chicago, it hits us in L.A.! We will stand together!"
The movement has spread across the world. Dozens held signs that read "No Justice, No Peace" outside the United States embassy in England.
"We're sending our solidarity to the States, and we're sending our message to the police and the government," Lee Jasper, a protester, said. "We're not taking this license to kill our people, we're here on the streets making our voice heard."
Trayvon was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt when he was gunned down, and it has become a rallying symbol for supporters everywhere, including in New England. In Springfield, Mass., people took part in an event called "1000 Hoodies: A Walk in Honor of Trayvon Martin." Those at Saturday's rallies say they'll keep the rallies going until Zimmerman is charged.
Despite no charges thus far in the case, authorities continue to investigate the shooting.
