Like everyone, I have been captivated, outraged, and saddened by the unjust killing of Trayvon Martin. Tonight, thousands and thousands of people turned out in Detroit's Hart Plaza to demonstrate for justice for Trayvon. I brought my camera. Photos below the fold.
The injustice of Trayvon Martin's slaying has moved me, just as it has moved all of you. The kid glove treatment given to his killer is difficult to understand and accept. When I heard about the rally in downtown Detroit, I immediately wanted to attend.
A Speaker on the Stage at the Rally
When I arrived the demonstration was already under way. There were thousands of people filling Hart Plaza, many wearing hoodies. Although the weather was colder than the pleasant Spring weather we were having last week, the turnout was impressive.
The Crowd in Hart Plaza
My inexperienced estimate would be that there were easily several thousand people present, although the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Hundreds Gather in Detroit at Rally for Trayvon Martin. Hundreds, in the same sense that a beach contains dozens of grains of sand.
Wearing a Hoodie
This woman's sign says:
The wearing of a Hijab doesn't make a Muslim at terrorist. Just like wearing a yarmulke doesn't make a Jewish person a shyster. Wearing a Hoodie does not make a teen with Skittles a "Gangsta"! But shooting a child in Cold Blood does make the Shooter a Murderer.
I was planning on buying a hoodie for the event, as I don't already own one, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get one before the rally. (I made a few slight edits to the text of her sign. She was very nice, and I don't think she would object.)
We Are Trayvon Martin
Justice For All Of Us
This sign seemed to sum up the feeling of the moment. The spirit of unity and common cause was palpable. I understand that there were also rallies in other cities, as there have been on previous occasions and will be in the future. I'm proud to have taken part.
"Stop Police Misconduct Now!"
The speakers were moving and inspiring. There were also people with a number of petitions for ballot issues. There were people collecting signatures to get Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) on the ballot and people collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would put the right to collective bargaining in the Michigan constitution.
"The Fake War on Drugs is really the New Jim Crow"
There were also people with a petition for a ballot proposal to legalize marijuana. (I signed all of the aforementioned petitions.)
Sundown in Hart Plaza
The rally continued for well over an hour. As the sun set, the crowd in downtown Detroit had hardly thinned at all. I was beginning to really regret not having a hoodie on. The temperature dropped quickly, but the last few speakers were some of the most moving of the rally. A senior from Cass Tech High School in Detroit read a poem he had written for Trayvon Martin whose theme was, "Am I next?" I wish I could share it with you. I can only hope someone recorded it and will upload it somewhere, and if I can find it, I will update this diary with a link to it.
Skittles for Trayvon
Perhaps the highlight of the evening for me were these two young woman who had brought Skittles to the rally, and a paper with the headline, "Justice for Trayvon". The woman on the right was kind enough to share a few of her Skittles with me.
One of the last few speakers asked us to not just come out and then go home, but to get involved, and he gave out a web site. Take Action Detroit dot com. I'm not familiar with it, but it looks worthy of being shared, and so I share it.
I wish I had some words of wisdom, words of healing, that I could share with you that would do justice to this rally, or bring justice to this injustice, or provide solace to those who have been hurt. My heart breaks when I think of Trayvon's parents. No parent should ever have to bury their child. That is the worst pain and sadness that exists. There is nothing I can do and nothing I can say to ease that pain. Showing up at a rally isn't much. But if all I can do is add one more body to the crowd, one more voice to the call for justice, and to share these photos with you, then I will do it.
On my way downtown to the rally I was thinking of all the bad news we hear so often, and I was wishing for a little good news. When I was walking back to my car after the rally, I thought that maybe this crowd of thousands of people all coming out in solidarity with one another to call for justice — maybe that is the good news I was hoping for.
Update: I found a video taken at the rally. It isn't of the speaker I mentioned above, but of another poet, Jessica Care Moore: