“Million Hoodie March” Takes to the Streets

Hundreds gathered in Union Square on Wednesday in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old whose death in Sanford, Florida, three weeks ago, has sparked a national outrage over racial profiling and violence.

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch officer, shot Martin in the chest on Feb. 26. The unarmed teenager was returning home from a local 7-11 convenience store where he purchased candy and a beverage. Zimmerman shot him after calling an emergency dispatch and reporting a suspicious person. He has yet to be arrested on any charges related to the shooting.

Hooded protesters massed in Union Square before marching north to Times Square in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Protesters wore hoodies in reference to Zimmerman’s claim that Martin looked “suspicious” in a hooded sweatshirt that he was wearing at the time of the killing.

“To do nothing when innocent men are being murdered is worse than holding a gun,” said Sean Sadowski, a local psychiatrist who attended the rally. “I’m a white American and I saw racist and homophobic injustice while I was [studying at medical school in Florida]. I was blown away. [The shooting] should be personal for every American, regardless.”

The Million Hoodie March was coordinated in part by the Occupy Wall Street movement. The usual signifiers of the Occupy movement – drums, slogans and pamphlets – were present. Some of the banners read ”you can’t have Capitalism without Racism” and “arrest Zimmerman.”

The Martin family arrived shortly after the rally started and the crowd welcomed them with cheers and swells of emotion. Martin’s mother spoke to the crowd and thanked the protesters for their support.

“We are protesting for all the young,” said 66 year-old Evelyn Talarico, who was present at the rally. “Kids are being beaten up and locked up.”

Protesters used the Occupy movement’s “mic check” method in the square and chanted “We want answers and we want them now! We want arrest!” and “We are Trayvon Martin!”

Similar stories of racial profiling and unresolved murders echoed throughout the crowd. For some attendees, the Trayvon Martin shooting was just one incident in a long line of police discrimination.

“It’s black men being killed all over again,” said protester Karina Rodriguez, whose brother was killed in a gang-related murder in 2009. “It’s too much. I’m tired.”

At 7 p.m., the majority of protesters in Union Square left to march uptown, as hundreds of protesters spilled onto 14th Street. The Martin family did not participate in the march and was escorted off by the police in a black SUV. As the sun set, the sea of protesters headed north toward their destination while chanting “We have to fight back. Don’t shoot me. Don’t hurt me. I just have skittles and iced tea.”