STORY posted on April 1, 2012 by Maryann Abbs
Hoody Up Vancouver
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April 1, 2012
Hoody Up Vancouver!
Several hundred people donned hoodies and attended a protest today in Grandview Park, Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories in remembrance of Trayvon Martin and in solidarity with all young people who have been targeted, hurt, or lost their lives as a result of racial profiling. This event was organized as part of the 1, 000, 000 Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin. Since Trayvon was killed on February 26, 2012, hundreds of thousands have attended protests in dozens of cities throughout North America, including one in Sanford on March 22 just a few miles from the gated housing complex where Martin was killed.
Kat Norris, an organizer and spokesperson for the Indigenous Action Movement opened the demonstration. She says that “they can say it wasn’t because of the colour of his skin of his age, but we know that’s not true. We as indigenous people face this daily.”
Democracy Now reported that: Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African American high school student who was visiting his father in a gated community in Sanford when he was shot by the neighbourhood watch captain, George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. Trayvon was wearing a hoodie, on foot and un-armed; he had been to the store during a break in the NBA game to get Skittles and iced tea. Prior to shooting him in the chest, Zimmerman had called the police to report Trayvon's "suspicious" behavior (walking while black??) and insisted on pursuing him. Police have not arrested Zimmerman because he claims that he killed Trayvon in self-defense, under the protection of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. Police also did not contact Trayvon's family and registered him in the morgue as John Doe, in spite of having his cellphone in their possession when he was pronounced dead.
Full story at: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/20/walking_while_black_florida_police...
Winnifred Tovey attended the march because “I lived in New York City for a long time, and I’m really concerned about racism, and the degree to which young people of colour are systematically intimidated by the authorities.”
Canada also has a long history of racial profiling and racist violence. Demonstration organizers noted that “racial profiling in the form of policing, surveillance and incarceration affects many youth of color in the Lower Mainland from Arab, Muslim, South and/or Southeast Asian communities, and especially Indigenous and Black communities, who are already over-represented, with growing numbers, in Canada's prison system. “
For more information:
Video of parents of Trayvon Martin speaking: http://is.gd/unCRaG
The site for the Vancouver local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.