How Has Trayvon Martin Affected Perspectives on Race in North Druid Hills?

Keon McIntosh, a junior, was quoted in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story about a "hoodie protest" at Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta on Sunday, criticizing stereotypes related to black students and their style of dress.

"It's unfortunate there’s a stereotype against black teens and how they dress," McIntosh, a youth group member at that church, told the newspaper. "People are judged by how they look and not what’s inside."

All of this, of course, was part of a larger show of support for Trayvon Martin, the black 17-year-old who was shot and killed Feb. 26 while returning home from a convenience in Sanford, FL. Martin, who was killed by George Zimmerman, a member his neighborhood's watch group, was wearing a hoodie or hooded sweatshirt while he was walking back to his gated community. Zimmerman, who claims he acted in self-defense, has yet to be charged in the case.

Many believe the case is a clear-cut example of racial profiling, and the Sunday service at Ebenezer attracted more than 2,500 congregants wearing hoodies. But that event was just one of many in the metro Atlanta area recently and across the Southeast.

But the way the case has grown and reached down into communities, including the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area, is rare. What do you think about the Trayvon Martin case and the fallout that has spread as far as churches like Ebenezer, and how has it affected your perspective on race in the United States? Tell us in the comments section below.