Vol. 76/No. 14      April 9, 2012

Chicago
About 800 protesters rallied and marched in Chicago’s Loop March 24 for the second day in a row.

Airickca Gordon-Taylor brought greetings to the rally from the family of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black youth from Chicago who was kidnapped and lynched in 1955, in Money, Miss. The famous case helped spark the civil rights movement.

“It’s only through demonstrations like this that we have any chance of getting justice,” Anton Ford, a student at the University of Chicago, told the crowd gathered in Daley Plaza. “Otherwise they’ll just sweep this under the rug.”

—Betsy Farley

Washington, D.C.
Some 4,000 people rallied March 24 in Freedom Plaza here.

“We are just friends coming together around a cause that we thought was just,” Heather Raspberry told the Militant, one of three young women who put out a call for action that quickly spread through campus groups, churches, and Black rights organizations, including the NAACP.

“I’m here to fight for equality and justice,” said Derrick Armstrong, 50, who works in home improvement and came with his family. “These are troubled times. For someone to do this and not be charged. I just don’t understand. They would prosecute someone so quick for a lesser charge.”

“I’m in awe by the volume of the crowd,” Nelisa Ballosingh said. “I love the fact that everybody of all backgrounds and ethnicities is here to support a common cause.”

—Paul Pederson

Atlanta
Some 800 people rallied here March 22 to protest the killing of Trayvon Martin.

“The whole police department has got to go!,” Shamiqua Thompson told the Militant. “How could you shoot an unarmed child and not be arrested, not have your weapon taken away … not even drug tested?” asked the 20 year-old fast food worker.

The crowd broke into applause when Freda Waiters spoke briefly. Her 19-year-old son Ariston Waiters was killed last December by a cop in nearby Union City, Ga., shot in the back twice while running away.

—Sam Manuel

Philadelphia
Several thousand marched through the downtown streets here March 23 and crowded into the Center City’s Love Park.

The overwhelmingly young and Black demonstrators—many in hoodies—waved packets of Skittles candy and ice tea cans shouting, “I am Trayvon Martin; Justice for Trayvon Martin.” Pockets of the crowd held signs saying, “Do I look suspicious?”

The evening start of the action—7:17 p.m.—was called to coincide with the arrival of police shortly after Martin was fatally shot.

—Osborne Hart,