“Today is about us coming together,” Maurice Scott said on Saturday.
“We are not going to allow our children to be taken from us. I’m a black man trying to think positive and trying to do the right thing.
“I believe everyone out here has a purpose. God will show you. He may have used Trayvon Martin to bring us together, it’s up to him” said, Maurice Scott.
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“We have been silent for too long and we need to raise our voices. Trayvon is resting in the arms of God.
“What are we going to do after this day is done?
“This is about a movement and creating another movement in South Carolina and the nation.
“If you want this young man’s life not to be in vain then take that anger and put it into something positive,” said Jacqueline Williams.
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These are some of the voices that rang out at the Trayvon Martin vigil on Saturday at noon at the North Santee ball park.
They shared their concerns and were emotional and some shed tears.
Many made some strong comments and people were passionate.
These vigils, demonstrations, and rallies are being held all over the nation in response to the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Florida.
Many came out in their hoodies to the vigil on Saturday.
The hoodie sweat shirt has taken on a negative connotation in the African American community, being associated with drug dealers or criminals.
Some at the vigil wore tee shirts that read “I am Trayvon Martin.”
Children held up signs that read “Black boys matter, We are Trayvon Martin, and No Justice No Peace.”
Many of the demonstrations and vigils are taking place across the nation because an arrest has not taken place of George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood
Watch volunteer who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Florida has a “stand your ground” law.
The state of South Carolina also has this same law enacted which is section 16-11-440 code of laws, 1976.
The vigil started with a prayer for the family of Trayvon Martin.
Fran Wright, one of the keynote speakers expressed her voice by saying;
“As a parent, we are able to adapt to infinite things and we seem to wear
many hats; but if someone would have told me that we would be here today in
hoodies due to the injustice of an innocent child’s [death], then I
would have immediately binded the devil’s evil plots and in the mighty
name of Jesus, rebuked that.
“As a very active single parent that plays the role of a mother and a father, this goes deeper for me than any of you may ever know. I can only imagine the reverse effect a mother would feel when the child is taken away not from her birth canal but now on the opposite side of life where there’s no more options to grow.”
Maurice Scott sang Sam Cooke’s 1963 recording of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and DJ Dynamite played the record.
At one point during the vigil the group put on their hoodies and raised their right fists as a symbolic gesture of the 1960s Black power sign, chanting “No Justice … No Peace … No Justice … No Peace.”
Kyle Green from Columbia was another keynote speaker. He also spoke at a vigil that took place in Columbia. He said at least 4,500 people attended.
He’s also planning to speak at Benedict College.
By Rounette Johnson
For The Times