Ohio University students and Athens residents alike will raise their hoods and voices on College Green this evening in response to the Trayvon Martin murder case.
A “Justice for Trayvon” rally will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday near West Portico, or the side of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium facing the green. Numerous groups will be involved with the rally, all of which are encouraging attendees to wear hooded sweatshirts, said Molly Yanity, creator of the rally’s Facebook event and co-organizer of the rally.
Martin, a black 17-year old of Miami, Fl., was shot dead Feb. 26 during a scuffle with neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. Zimmerman said he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense and has not been arrested or charged for the shooting.
“It’s a humanity issue,” said Yanity, who also serves as vice president for communication on OU’s Graduate Student Senate.
The case has drawn national attention from civil-rights leaders and students alike, who say that Martin was a victim of racial profiling. Several rallies, protests and marches for justice have been conducted nationwide as the story has developed during the past few weeks.
The College Green gathering will come just two days after a Columbus rally. The Columbus Dispatch reported that more than 500 people took to Broad Street in support of the slain Florida teen.
“Even if you take the racism aspect out of it, he still killed a child — an unarmed child,” said Sarah Williams, a senior studying political science and former president of Students Teaching About Racism in Society.
Supporters and organizers of the rally came from several OU entities, including Akil Houston, an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies, who is expected to speak Wednesday night.
“There is no schedule, or plan. If people want to talk, they will. If people want to chant, they will. If they want to make and hold signs, do it,” Yanity said in a statement earlier this week.
hm156809@ohiou.edu
