East St. Louis Trayvon Martin Rally/March

                                   
On July 20th childhood friends of Tracy Martin, Tommie Liddell, Undre Howard, Reginald Jordan and Raymond House with the assistance of Stephanie Miles planned and organized a march/rally in Martin’s hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois. The march to the United States district court and the rally that took place there were to show love and support for Martin in his continued fight for justice in the aftermath of the acquittal of his son's killer. The peaceful demonstration, attended by several hundred people, started at the East St Louis Board of Education. It occurred under the umbrella of the National Call to Action Day, a nationwide protest where people in over a 100 cities marched on the lawns of federal courts to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to file charges against George Zimmerman for the violation of Trayvon Martin’s civil rights.

Barry Malloyd, a minister at Mount Sinai M.B. Church and author of the book Mama Said Write It, started the rally on a spiritual note.  He petitioned God with a passionte prayer asking that justice be served in the nationally known case. Malloyd said, "Truth crushed to stone will rise again." He also pleaded for peace in East St.Louis, a community plague by violence and crime.

Among  the featured speakers were personal friends of Tracy Martin, Tommie Liddell and Raymond House, Ayonna Khayyam, financial literacy educator and vice president of Young Money Entertainment Inc., and Saint Louis radio personality Carol Daniel.

House (left) professed the community's love for the Martin family. He said, "East St. Louis loves Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton and we are especially proud of them for the way they have expressed themselves with dignity, from the circumstances surrounding their son's death and throughout the trial of the man who killed him. They took the high road when there where so many other avenues they could have taken".

Daniel (left) delivered a powerful message to the youth in attendance. She said “We need you to be all that Trayvon Martin will never be”.

Liddell (right) read a statement from Martin to the residents of East St. Louis. His message in the wake of the aquittal verdict was “My faith is being tested right now".
                                                                                               http://youtu.be/ohG4VjgjY6o
14 year-old Khayyam (right) also addressed the younger people. She said "Knowledge is the key to success. If you're illiterate nobody's going to take you seriously, and with our generation, not taking school seriously, society is going to treat us like a joke"!

As Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton continue to pursue justice in the killing of their son, they are advocates of the Trayvon Martin Foundation, a non-for-profit organization that raises awareness of ethnic, gender and racial profiling. A goal of the organization is to educate youth in the area of conflict resolution as part of a larger effort to prevent deadly confrontations between them and strangers.                                                                         

                                                                                               

East St. Louis Trayvon Martin Rally Speech

                                            

Photo by Linda Gardner-(center) Raymond House

Good Afternoon Everyone. No Justice! No Peace! No Justice! No Peace! East St. Louis loves Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, and we are especially proud of them for the way they have expressed themselves with dignity, from the circumstance surrounding their son’s death and throughout the trial of the man who killed him.  They took the high road when there were so many other avenues they could have taken.

Last year when they came to support the stop the violence rally here in East St. Louis, we the friends of Tracy Martin, presented him and Sybrina with a plaque in memory of their son Trayvon. Inscribed on the plaque was our pledge to them and our prayer for them.  As written it reads “We stand with you, we support your fight for justice and we pray that God continues to be your strength”.  That was our promise then and in the overcast of the verdict, it remains the same. We stand and support them in their continued fight for justice.

Similar to the nationwide marches that led the state of Florida to charge George Zimmerman with second degree murder last year, there are nationwide marches now to have charges filed against him in federal court. Today is a national call to action and people all over the country have answered by marching, because we want an investigation to determine if Trayvon Martin’s civil rights were violated. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, lied about the circumstances surrounding it, never explained it court and was still found not guilty by the jury. There is a grave injustice in that!

In the community of common sense we don’t believe for a minute that Trayvon was peering through windows and looking at houses, just because Mr. Zimmerman said he was.  Who does that when walking from the store in the rain while talking on the phone in a neighborhood where they have business to be? In the community of common sense we do believe that George Zimmerman created reasons to report Trayvon Martin to the police, to portray him as a suspicious person.  What really made him suspicious?  In the community of common sense we do believe that if Trayvon Martin were white George Zimmerman would have gone on to Target instead of making him a target.  He would have stayed seated in his vehicle and we would not have had to question whether he was standing his ground or not.

Fifty years ago, a march driven by the force of a quarter of a million people traveled to Washington D.C. to fight for civil rights and against this kind of discrimination. Because of that march and the laws passed behind it, forty-five years later an African American man was able to walk into the White House, not as a servant, but as the president of the United States, the highest office of power in the world. As far as he has come as an African American man to get there, if an African American boy isn’t able to walk a few yards to a house in neighborhood he’s visiting, without being discriminated against and being killed, then we as a people still have a long way to go. Thank you

The Smoking Gun: The George Zimmerman Case/Trayvon Martin Video

              Hear the Smoking Gun Evidence in the George Zimmerman Case!

                                  

                                                         Kel-Tec PF-9 

                                                                                                              

Only minutes after George Zimmerman made a phone call to the Sanford Police Department to report Trayvon Martin as a suspicious person, their paths briefly crossed and Martin’s life suddenly ended. Since it became a major story in the media people all over the world have wondered what really happened that night.  According to Zimmerman, he killed Martin in self-defense shortly after Martin tried to take his firearm. Zimmerman claims that Martin went for his concealed weapon when it became exposed during a struggle.

Now, with the trial fully underway, new clues have emerged from previously released evidence. They cast doubt on Zimmerman's assertion that Martin tried to take his gun, which he says was in his holster. The clues arise from the very call that the neighborhood watchman made moments before the shooting.  While it’s not a secret, it is a mystery that the evidence isn't more widely known. Especially, since the call revealing it was released and broadcast repeatedly in the news. One possible explanation is that listeners have been distracted by conversation. The startling clues are faintly heard in the background of the on-going dialogue between Zimmerman and the dispatcher. I’m not a detective nor am I an attorney. Neither am I familiar with all of the prosecution’s discovery,  but I would venture to say that one of the most damning pieces of evidence in the murder case against George Zimmerman is that recorded phone call.  After carefully listening to it again, I am convinced that the distinct and compelling noise heard in it is the smoking gun. It’s those sounds that likely led to the second-degree murder charge against him and could very well lead to a conviction.

   Listen for yourself and decide. (Stereo headphones enhances the quality of sound).

                                               http://youtu.be/3Cb3yBpYjYM

                  

At the 2:00 minute mark of the recording Zimmerman is still in his vehicle while giving directions for arriving officers to get to his location. Within a few seconds he abruptly uses an expletive as he states for the first time that Martin is running. A second later what sounds like the following noises are heard, a vehicle door opening, an open door alert sounding, and the door of a vehicle closing.  Next Zimmerman’s voice is heard slightly straining as he continues to talk to the dispatcher while moving to get out of a vehicle.  Apparently tracking Martin movements, he reports to the dispatcher where the teen is running.  The dispatcher then asks Zimmerman if he’s following him. Zimmerman responds, “Yeah.” The dispatcher says, “Okay, we don’t need you to do that” and Zimmerman’s says, “Okay.” As there is no obvious change in the background noise, there is no way to confirm that Zimmerman discontinued following Martin. The dispatcher says, “Alright sir what is your name?” “George,” Zimmerman responds.  For a second time Zimmerman states that Martin is running. The dispatcher asks Zimmerman his last name.  When he responds, the evidence that has been largely unheard by listeners boldly speaks, perhaps as a chilling prelude to the heart-wrenching screams heard on the 911 call shortly before Martin is shot.  At the 2:56 mark on the recording as Zimmerman states his last name with particular emphasis, what sounds like the mechanisms of a gun are clearly heard. Almost simultaneously, Zimmerman seemingly preoccupied with doing something sounds frustrated, as he utters two words in a very low voice.  One sounds like the expletive, “s**t” and the other is “no.” A few seconds later tapping noises are heard. The noises are heard intermittently for approximately 22 seconds until the 3:23 mark on the recording.  The call ends shortly thereafter.

It's circumstantial audio evidence, but it can be just as compelling as visual evidence. Obviously the prosecution would have to convince a jury that the noise heard is Zimmerman preparing his firearm.  If gun experts can testify that the sounds are consistent with preparing that type of gun for shooting, it would be a start toward persuading a jury.  Furthermore, if they could re-create the same kind of noise heard, using Zimmerman's own gun, it would be very powerful testimony. Since there is no visual evidence, the prosecution would also likely argue that the context in which these sounds occur make the accusations that Zimmerman was getting his gun ready for use more probable. How Zimmerman's weapon was introduced into the confrontation is an important point. If Zimmerman prepared his gun with the intent to pursue Martin without provocation, at that point he engaged in premeditated criminal activity. If that's the way it happened, Zimmerman's unlawful behavior subsequently led to the death of Martin, who was unarmed, not committing a crime, and running away from him.

Trayvon Martin Plaques Presented

On Friday May 25, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the parents of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who was shot and killed during an encounter with neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman on February 26, were presented with twin plaques at a Stop the Violence rally in East Saint Louis, Illinois. Martin, who is from East St. Louis and Fulton were in town to support the campaign against youth violence. The two were presented with the plaques at the North End Missionary Baptist Church by friends from the neighborhood where Martin grew-up.

The plaques read-Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, as your friends we also mourn the loss of your son, Trayvon. In your time of need, we are an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. We stand with you, we support your fight for justice and we pray that God will continue to be your strength. 

Photo By: Linda Gardner
Story By:Raymond House

The Twists and Turns of This Life : Tracy Martin

Growing up in East St. Louis Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin lived in our neighborhood.  Along with the other kids on our block , we played basketball right across the street from my house. On 21^st Street and Caseyville Avenue, as children, we were carefree. Back then, none of us ever would have imagined in our wildest nightmare what would happen  more than thirty years later.  We could not have forseen that Tracy would have a son who would be murdered, that it would spark nationwide protests and that it would even be commented on by the President of the United States (who would be Black).  If anyone would have told us then that this would happen, we would not have believed it. 

When I called Tracy to express my condolences over his son's death, it was surreal. In this world we never know what’s going to happen to us, or to the people we know. The twists and turns of this life can never be predicted.  We must believe and trust that God will navigate us through them, even in our darkest hour.