The Rev. Al Sharpton comments on the massive outpouring of outrage of how police in Florida are handling the investigation of the shooting death of Travyon Martin.
By msnbc.com staff and news services
Thousands of people in cities across the country planned to march this weekend to call for justice in memory of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager shot to death last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida.
Rallies were planned Saturday in Washington, Chicago, Dallas and Tampa, Fla. Seattle, Baltimore and Atlanta were among other cities hosting weekend events. Protesters were encouraged to wear hoodies – the type of garment Martin had on when he was killed.
In Tampa, up to 1,000 people marched to one of the city's busiest intersections, the Tampa Bay Times reported. They carried signs that said, "I am Trayvon" and "Arrest Zimmerman for a cold-blooded murder" or "Justice for Trayvon." Many wore hoodies and carried bags of Skittles, just as Martin did at the time he was shot, according to the Times.
In Columbia, S.C., hundreds of people gathered in Finlay Park, wistv.com reported.
"Trayvon is the Emmitt Till of our generation," said event co-chair Chris Sullivan. He's referring to the Mississippi 14-year-old who was beaten to death in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
"'A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,' those are the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King and that's why we're here today," said Sullivan.
More than 1.7 million people have signed an online petition urging that the shooter be prosecuted.
Trayvon, my son and the Black Male Code
Martin was killed in the town of Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26. The shooting has set off a nationwide debate over race and justice. Martin's family believes he was killed in part because he was black. Neighborhood crime-watch captain George Zimmerman, whose father is white and mother is Hispanic, claimed self-defense. He has not been arrested, though state and federal authorities are still investigating.
A legal adviser to Zimmerman said the shooting had nothing to do with race.
"I asked him, 'Are you a racist? Do you have anything against black people?' and he said 'No'," Zimmerman's legal adviser, Craig Sonner, told CNN on Friday.
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