New Yorkers Vent Fury over Zimmerman Verdict

All over New York City, residents showed their fury over the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case Sunday night. 

The protests ranged from Harlem in north Manhattan southward to Times Square and extended into Brooklyn. Thousands of protesters in Union Square yelled, “No justice, no peace,” while they marched in the direction of Times Square.

Politicians got involved; Councilman Jumaane Williams tweeted: “I’m in #UnionSquare with hundreds of New Yorkers all seeking #justiceforTrayvon. We must end #profiling in America.” He said that Zimmerman’s acquittal meant that it’s “difficult to be a black man in 2013.” 

At a rally on 125th Street, Democratic mayoral candidates John Liu and Bill de Blasio both condemned the verdict; De Blasio called for the Department of Justice to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman.

Celebrities got involved, too; Sloange Knowles, sister of Beyoncé, organized a rally in Brooklyn, saying, “I really want this to be about Trayvon.” 

In Harlem, at the at Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Rev. Nicholas Richards stated, “Every generation has its own evil. But our evil is a different kind of evil — our systems are evil.”