Sanford Citizens Continue to Demand Justice at NAACP Town Hall Meeting

The Seminole County NAACP Town Hall meeting was packed with information.  The forum was held at Allen Chapel AME church on Monday night at 7pm.  The main focus of the meeting was next steps in the aftermath of the George Zimmerman verdict.  George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin.  This verdict has served to motivate the community to speak out against injustice and work toward true justice.

NAACP National Activites

Seminole NAACP President Turner Clayton began the meeting by listing the national organization's plans for dealing with the verdict.  The first step is to collect more signatures for the petition to bring civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.  You can go to www.naacp.org to find out more information and sign.  The NAACP is also callng for a revocation of George Zimmerman's concealed weapons permit.

The NAACP will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King gave the historic "I Have a Dream Speech."  On August 24th the NAACP will join in the commemoration of this landmark Civil Rights Movement event by gathering on the National Mall.

NAACP Local Activities

The Seminole County Branch of the NAACP is also planning some local efforts.  There will be a march during the fist week of August.  The branch will also be looking into allegations that there was jury tampering in the George Zimmerman trial.  There have been charges that the jury was not completely sequestered during the trial.  There will be town hall meetings held monthly to update the community on progress toward justice.  President Clayton also announced that there will be annual commemoration events for Trayvon Martin.  Each year a prayer vigil will be held during the month of February to remember the life that was lost.  February 5 was Trayvon's birthday.  February 26th was the day he was killed by a grown man.  Also, the branch is calling for economic sanctions each year on July 13, which is the date of the "Not Guilty" verdict. 

ALEC

President Clayton also gave out information on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  This organization raises money to elect conservative candidates among other things.  One of the other things they have raised money for is the George Zimmerman Defense Fund.  Many companies in which we spend our money belong to ALEC.  The NAACP suggest that we stop spending our money with organizations that actively (and blatantly) work against us.  By giving our money to these companies, we are supporting ALEC.  Companies like Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Amazon and Coca Cola have pulled out of ALEC.  Companies like AT&T, State Farm, Yahoo, Pfizer and Time Warner Cable disrespect us and show that they do not value us or our hard-earned money by supporting a cause that we have demonstrated so passionately against.  You can go to www.commoncause.org to find a list of all of the companies that are still a part of ALEC.

Police Brutality in Sanford

Sanford released the killer of an unarmed teenager and literally the next day the Sanford police tased Samuel Fuller (an older African American man) in the head, causing him to have to be admitted into the hospital.  The new Chief of Police, Cecil Smith, was at the meeting to bravely face the community.  Smith said the tasing was an accident that occurred because the police officer and Fuller were both running.  The community expressed support and said that they would be patient with Chief Smith.  However, they by and large did not buy the excuse that this event was an accident.  Many of the citizens said the police officers are trained to handle the taser gun.  They also questioned whether pulling out a taser and chasing a man who was suspected of shooting dice was even called for. Not to mention, witnesses said Fuller was not even involved in the dice game but only a spectator.  Many citizens want the Federal Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the SPD.  They said they do support and trust Chief Smith.  However, they do not trust many of the officers and staff who report to Chief Smith.   Take a look at the pictures and  judge for yourself.

We Can Still Get Justice for Trayvon Martin

The Zimmerman verdict has saddened many tonight. It was suggested by Zimmerman's attorneys that those seeking justice for Trayvon Martin are angry people. Mark O'mara said that those people who wanted this trial to happen are just angry, responsible for stirring up hatred for George Zimmerman. O'mara and others are saying that the people who feel that George Zimmerman should have been arrested, tried and held accountable for the death of an innocent, unarmed child are just angry, even hatemongers.

 However, what I have seen and heard are just words and expressions of sorrow for Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, and the rest of their family. They have had to sit and watch their son be put on trial instead of the man who killed him. They have had to see images of the dead body of their child. They have had to listen to him scream. So those who have prayed for justice are not angry. We are so very sad.

However, we must realize that we can not stop at being sad. We have got to continue the fight for our boys. The media are turning off their lights and cameras and getting in their vans to go home. We are still here. We still have boys who are profiled everyday. They are being profiled from the time they come out of the womb. They are marked for failure as soon as they walk into the kindergarten class. Prisons are being built to house them. And now we know that the graves that are carved out for them are not grieved over by some.

If this trial didn't show us anything else, it should have showed us that we can not wait on anybody else to value our boys. Some people may never see black boys as worthy of defense. They may never empathize with the tears shed by black mothers and fathers.

But those of us who live in Sanford and other communities across this nation and world must support and nurture our boys and girls. We must do everything we can to make sure that they know they are worthy. We must tell them they are destined for greatness not graves at an early age. We must prepare them for college not the criminal justice system. We must make it so that if our boys are profiled, it will not be as potential criminals. We must make sure that anyone who sees our boys can expect nothing but strength, good character, and intelligence. Because that is who they are. That is who God created them to be. We must tell them who they are. We must fight for them. Not in anger, but in love.