Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy, spoke in Miami today exactly one week after a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of his son’s murder . In front of a large crowd of supporters, the elder Martin pressed for a federal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his son’s death.
“I’d like the world to know that Trayvon was my son. He was a loved child. He did nothing wrong and we’re not going to let them persecute him he way that they have,” Tracy Martin said on Saturday.
“I vowed to Trayvon, when he was lying in his casket, that I would use every ounce of energy in my body to seek justice for him. I will fight for Trayvon until the day I die. Not only will I fight for Trayvon, I will fight for your child as well,” he continued.
Saturday’s Miami vigil is one of over 100 “Justice for Trayvon” events planned by the Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Each event is held outside of courthouses across the country .
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, planned to attend a vigil in New York City along with Sharpton.
Many of the demonstrations also include prayers from local pastors and speakers and protests against “Stand Your Ground” laws.
Yesterday, President Barack Obama personally addressed the George Zimmerman verdict during a daily press briefing. He said that Trayvon Martin “could have been me 35 years ago” and asked if there is “more that we can do to give them [young African-American men] the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?”
“Senseless violence is a disease and we as a people have the cure, we just need to come together,” Trayvon Martin’s father Tracy said Saturday.
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[Image: David Shankbone ]