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Politics & Government

Howard County Demands Justice for Trayvon Martin

Lawmakers joined NAACP leaders and faith groups at Columbia vigil for Martin.


Local leaders called for justice for Trayvon Martin during a rousing vigil in Columbia Monday night.

More than 200 people attended the event at , many wearing hoodies, the type of sweatshirt Trayvon Martin—the teen shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman—wore at the time of his death on Feb. 26 in Sanford, FL.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, who called Martin’s death a “senseless tragedy," quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in explaining its relation to Howard County: “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

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Zimmerman says he acted in self-defense and has not been charged under Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows a citizen to use force when there is reasonable belief of a threat.

“Trayvon Martin was innocent,” said Anasia Wharton, president of the Howard County NAACP Youth Council, which organized the April 9 vigil in Columbia. “His killer is still walking the streets with his gun.” 

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According to USA Today, a special prosecutor appointed by Florida's governor is handling the investigation.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-MD, called for an independent investigation into the incident. “We want to find out whether race was a factor. We want to make sure justice prevails," said Cardin. "It’s time to end racial profiling in America.”

In the meantime, national NAACP board member Don Cash urged attendees to withold their patronage from organizations like Coach and AT&T that support the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that helped draft Florida's Stand Your Ground law. “We need to let them know we are not going to support them if they don’t support safe communities,” said Cash.

At the end of the vigil, the crowd joined hands in prayer and then sang “We Shall Overcome” as they filed out of the church, led by the boys and girls of the NAACP Youth Council.

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