Max Smith, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – The killing of Trayvon Martin hits close to home for many in the DC area, and it sparked more than one hundred people to gather Friday in Anacostia at The Big Chair on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE.
“This is very important. A young child was lost. A 17-year-old child was lost, and that is the most important issue here today,” Salim Adolfo says. He helped organize the rally for the National Black United Front, along with the DC chapter of the NAACP.
“It’s important that we understand that we can’t have our children attacked by someone who is just trying to commit vigilante justice,” he adds.
Local ANC commissioner Carolyn Ward joined the group of people holding candles and signs.
“It’s so important for me to be out here because all black youth, young men, old men, and we need justice. I lost my husband in 1999, and I’m still fighting for justice,” she says.
One child at the rally carried a sign saying “Is it a crime? Yes!”, while a teen held one over his head saying “I am Trayvon Martin.”
Another man held up an orange sign calling for a boycott of the state of Florida and every other state with a “stand your ground” law, as the group chanted “Trayvon Martin” and “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
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