Over 60 Champaign-Urbana community members gathered in Douglass Park on Sunday evening to remember Trayvon Martin, a day after the man who fatally shot him was acquitted of murder.
A couple of residents held up a sign that said “Remember Kiwane. No more stolen lives,” as community members took their turn speaking out against racial profiling not only in the high-profile Florida case, but here in Champaign. The sign referenced Kiwane Carrington, a 15-year-old boy who was shot and killed in 2009 in Champaign. The officer involved in the shooting was not charged.
“I am outraged. I am angry,” said Valarie Ammons, Champaign resident. “Because I am Trayvon Martin’s mom. I am Kiwane Carrington’s mom. That’s how I felt. That’s how I felt when I found out George Zimmerman was not going to jail for killing my son. He should be all of our sons.”
A jury in a Sanford, Fla., court found Zimmerman not guilty Saturday night of second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Martin. Jurors also acquitted Zimmerman of manslaughter charges.
Urbana resident Rachel Storm organized the impromptu protest in the wake of the ruling just days before. She stressed a need to meet other Champaign-Urbana residents and build community.
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“This is how we build peace and community,” Storm said.
Aaron Ammons, who is the son of Valarie and a member of C-U Citizens for Peace and Justice, led a chant of over 50 people: “I am Trayvon. I am Kiwane.”
“This is something I may be able to explain or may not be able to explain. This happens to us far too often than it happens to anybody else. … We just think it’s time for us to make sure we take a stand on this,” he said. Ammons is African-American.
“My young son is running around here somewhere right now,” he said. “He’s 11 years old. And I’m going to tell you from the bottom of my heart, it’s going to be a long day in Champaign history if something happened to him.”
Ammons encouraged a public debate about policies such as Florida’s Stand Your Ground law and the newly implemented concealed carry law in Illinois.
Across the nation, demonstrators outraged over the verdict in George Zimmerman’s murder trial took to the streets.
In Chicago, black clergy members called for calm, with the Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church saying the community should become “a united voice for peace” because it can’t control the verdict but it “can control our streets and communities.”
Civil rights leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have urged peace. Jackson said the legal system “failed justice,” but violence isn’t the answer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Darshan can be reached at [email protected] and @drshnpatel.
