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Angelenos March to Demand Justice for Trayvon Martin
Trayvon Martin
Following a similar event in New York City, protesters in L.A. participated in a "Million Hoodie March" yesterday in support of justice for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Florida boy who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer who felt that Martin, who is black and was wearing a hoodie at the time of his death, looked "suspicious."
The group of protesters marched through downtown from Pershing Square to City Hall. Estimates of how many people attended range from several hundred to several thousand.
What all reports have in common, though, is the understanding that protesters were there to insist that the shooter, 28-year-old George Zimmerman -- who is half white and half Latino -- be brought to justice. Because Zimmerman claimed he was acting in self-defense, he hasn't been arrested yet.
Another march took place on Sunday in Crenshaw, and yesterday a separate group gathered at a church in South L.A.
Protesters at the downtown rally had plenty to say about the case.
"I expect them to charge [Zimmerman], and I expect the judicial system to work," one demonstrator told NBC Los Angeles.
Chase Conerly from Pasadena told KPCC: "I think, for me, you get so sick of hearing about black people getting murdered, dying [...] At some point, man, we've gotta matter just as much as everybody else."
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