Public Employee Press

Clerical activists wear hoodies for Trayvon

Activists from Local 1549 and the DC 37 Clerical Division were part of the nationwide wave of protest against Sanford, Florida's failure to arrest George Zimmerman in the Feb. 26 killing of Trayvon Martin.

The national outcry convinced Florida Gov. Rick Scott to appoint a special prosecutor, Angela Corey, and on April 11 she charged Zimmerman with 2nd degree murder.

Martin, 17 years old and 6 feet tall, liked girls, computer games, sports, rap and hip-hop, Bob Marley and LeBron James.

On the night of Feb. 26, he was returning to his father at a family friend's home, after buying an iced tea and candy.

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, decided the black teenager wearing a hoodie didn't belong in the gated community, trailed him against the instructions of a police dispatcher and finally shot him to death.

Local police said they declined to prosecute because they couldn't disprove Zimmerman's claim that since he felt threatened, the killing was justified under Florida's Stand Your Ground law.

Protest marches and rallies swept the nation, and wearing hooded sweatshirts became a symbol of supporting Martin and demanding that Florida take action against his killer.

LeBron James and the Miami Heat as well as legislators from California to New York City Council members donned hoodies in protest, as did members of DC 37's Clerical-Administrative Division, on March 30.

Local 1549 Executive Vice President Alma Roper said, "It is a tragedy that children of color are still being racially profiled in this day and age."

"I have a young son and four young nephews," said Division Director Renee Gainer. "This is horrendous, when a child cannot visit his parent without being gunned down."

"We advocate every day for people who don't have a voice," said Assistant Director Kenneth Mulligan, "so it is only right that we express our disgust with what we feel is unfair."

In their outrage and dismay, they were in good company. The issue affected President Barack Obama deeply on a personal level. "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," said Obama.