Jesse Jackson Sr. told attendees of a Sanford, Fla. town hall meeting Sunday that Trayvon Martin, the African-American teenager who was killed last month in the town, is “a martyr.”
Martin was shot and killed Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who followed the 17-year-old high school student. Zimmerman told police at the time that he believed Martin looked suspicious.
As it turned out, Martin was carrying a pack of Skittles and a bottle of ice tea. Zimmerman has not been arrested, stoking outrage and protests both in the town of Sanford and elsewhere nationwide.
“Trayvon is martyr, he’s not coming back, he’s a martyr, murdered and martyred,” said Jackson Sunday. “Now we must illuminate the darkness with the light that comes from the martyr.”
Jackson told the Los Angeles Times Friday that “blacks are under attack,” adding that “targeting, arresting, convicting blacks and ultimately killing us is big business.”
“No justice, no peace,” he told the paper.
The Martin case has attracted reactions from a range of political leaders. President Barack Obama expressed sadness Friday, saying, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich interpreted the comments as interjecting race into the controversy, describing Obama’s remarks as “appalling” and “disgraceful.
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Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Saturday, March 31st 2012 at 1:40AM
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