Community Corner

Upstate Protesters Support Trayvon Martin's Family

Dressed in hoodies, the demonstrators offered a peaceful protest in support of Trayvon Martin's family and because they didn't feel the trial of George Zimmerman was fair.

On a Sunday afternoon in Greenville a group of about 50 protestors, both black and white, gathered in front of The Peace Center.

They got a lot of second glances from people leaving the venue, having just seen "The Jersey Boys."

"No justice, no peace," they cried.

Dressed in hoodies, the demonstrators offered a peaceful protest in support of Trayvon Martin's family and because they didn't feel the trial of George Zimmerman was fair.

Alex Abercrombie works for WOLI radio station Occupy the Microphone said he was trying to support justice.

"Trayvon Martin did nothing wrong," Abercrombie said. "Neighborhood watch says you aren't supposed to follow, carry a gun or get out of your car. He (Zimmerman) broke all those rules. Trayvon didn't get justice."

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Abercrombie was just one of the many protesters whose voice would be heard. Click to watch the video of Abercrombie talking to the crowd.

Many protesters would come to the microphone with a heartfelt plea for the fight for justice in Martin's death to continue.

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The group, organized by the Traci Young Fant, CEO of Think Twice, called for justice and hopes that one day Zimmerman will be prosecuted for civil wrongful death charges in the future. Watch Fant speak to the crowd.

"We would like to see something happen some kind of reversal with the court system, something needs to happen," Fant said.

Fant said she was attending a birthday party Saturday evening when she learned of the verdict. The once festive atmosphere of a friend's 40th birthday became a somber event, Fant said, as the news began to spread.

Fant had traveled last week to Florida to meet Martin's family and to show her support of them during the trial. She said she walked the streets that Martin had walked and she talked to the store clerk, where Martin had purchased Skittles and an Arizona drink.

Fant said that Sunday's protest was meant to be peaceful. She talked to the crowd about Martin Luther King Jr. and how the marches in the '60s didn't happen so that in 2013 people could be right back where they were again. 

"People marched, they died, they were sprayed with water," Fant said. "They didn't do all that for us to be here, again. This is an injustice for people, for all people."

Fant said that if she were to walk through a neighborhood with a hoodie on, back to someone, hood up, hands in her pocket, no one would know if she was black, white, hispanic.

"The point of this whole thing is because of a child, and, it could have been anybody's child," Fant said.

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