Posted on 03/22/2012 2:25:55 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
CNN) - Social media is fueling a rush of publicity and activism around demands for justice in the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager shot last month by a white self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman in Florida. Local police have declined to arrest the watchman, George Zimmerman.
There are more than 50 petitions at Change.org related to Trayvon Martin, according to the activism website's Communications Director, Brianna Cayo-Cotter. She said the cause is shaping up to be one of the most popular ever hosted on the site. ....
Another popular petition, on the civic action site SignOn.org, had more than 290,000 signatures by 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday. “Justice for Trayvon Martin,” posted March 17 by Bowie, Md. resident Maria Roach, asks U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the case.
Roach, a documentary filmmaker, said she was moved to create her petition out of empathy for Martin and his family, but also because she felt his death wasn’t getting enough attention from prosecutors or national media at the time.
"We looked at the pictures of him (Martin) and he looks like our 7-year-old in ten years. I looked at it and tears welled in my eyes," said Roach. "I pray that the outcome will be justice – justice that the family will take comfort in."
She used her Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread the word about the petition, sending links to actors like Pam Grier and Tichina Arnold, prominent pastors and civil rights leaders. Progressive activist group MoveOn.org contacted her and asked if they could send links to the petition to their members – "that's when it really exploded," Roach said. Later this week she’ll be delivering the petition and its signatures to Holder's office.
(Excerpt) Read more at inamerica.blogs.cnn.com ...
Shepard makes me sick!
Arent vigilantes supposed to be on the FBI watch list now, or is it just vigilantes in Idaho?
Looking forward to it. Be safe.
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