JAY Z & BEYONCE PROTEST IN NYC With Trayvon Martin's Mom and more ! (546 hits)
ay-Z & Justin T. dedicate "Forever Young" to Trayvon Martin 7/19 see video
Beyoncé sings 'I will always love you' after moment of silence for Trayvon Martin see video Jay Z and Beyonce have made it clear -- they believe justice was NOT served in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin ... they spent Saturday protesting the laws which allowed his killer to walk.
Photos of the superstar couple showed up on Instagram ... of Jay and Bey in NYC, protesting against "Stand Your Ground" laws ... the law in FL which allowed George Zimmerman to claim self-defense in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon.
J & B were seen posing with Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, and Al Sharpton. Al reportedly told the crowd of protesters the famous couple was there ... but didn't want to speak and didn't come for a photo op.
As TMZ previously reported ... both Beyonce and Jay have taken time out of recent performances to honor Trayvon. And last week, Beyonce tagged a photo on Instagram "JusticeForTrayvon."
Supercouple Beyonce and Jay Z certainly haven't been silent about their feelings on the Trayvon Martin tragedy before now, as both have paid tribute to the slain teen in separate concerts this week. But on Saturday, "two of the baddest artists of all time" — as rally organizer Rev. Al Sharpton called them — let their mere presence do the talking, showing up at a demonstration against Stand Your Ground laws in downtown Manhattan and chatting with Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton. "Jay Z and Beyonce said they didn't want to speak and they didn't come for a photo op," Sharpton told demonstrators. "Jay Z told me, 'I'm a father. Beyonce is a mother.' We all feel the pain and apprehension. The laws must protect everybody, or it doesn't protect anybody." The pair joined the proceedings when demonstrators reached New York City police headquarters, in one of dozens of protests scheduled across the country to speak out against the Florida self-defense law that allowed George Zimmerman to go free. But prior to this quiet moment, the two stars haven't let just silence speak volumes. The previous night, Jay Z used his moment as the king of New York — co-headlining with Justin Timberlake at Yankee Stadium, in the kickoff to their "Legends of the Summer" tour — to dedicate the closing number to Martin. "Get out your cell phone. Let's light the sky for Trayvon Martin tonight," exhorted Jay Z as Timberlake sang the opening refrains of "Forever Young." "One time for Trayvon," Timberlake added a few minutes into the iPhone-illuminated eulogy.
Saturday, July 20th 2013 at 7:39PM
DAVID JOHNSON
AFRICANGLOBE – Thousands gathered Saturday at rallies in more than 100 cities nationwide to remember Trayvon Martin, to press for federal civil rights charges against the man who shot him, and to attack stand-your-ground self-defense laws.
George Zimmerman’s acquittal a week ago on all charges in the shooting death of the unarmed Black teen touched off protests across the nation. The Justice Department is investigating whether Zimmerman violated Trayvon Martin’s civil rights when he shot the 16-year-old during a February 2012 confrontation in Sanford, Fla.
In New York, the Rev. Al Sharpton took aim at stand-your-ground laws in more than a dozen states that generally give people wide latitude to use deadly force if they fear serious bodily harm. ”We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again,” Sharpton, who organized the rallies through his National Action Network, told the crowd in New York.
Zimmerman’s lawyers had considered the controversial stand-you-ground defense, but opted instead for a more traditional self-defense argument.
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, spoke at the New York rally. “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours,” she warned the crowd. Trayvon’s father, Tracy Martin echoed those sentiments at a rally in Miami.
In Indianapolis, where a rally at the Birch Bayh Federal Building was cut short by a downpour, Pastor Michael K. Jones said the Zimmerman verdict “should be a wake up call to us just like 9-11 was for all us in America.”
“Do you know what America did after 9-11? We made some changes,” Jones said. “I came by today to tell someone 7-13 will never happen again.”
The rallies drew the rich and famous, including Beyonce and Jay Z in New York. But mostly the crowds consisted of regular folks who felt justice was not served at Zimmerman’s trial.
Justice For Trayvon Rally photo Justice for Trayvon demonstrators in New Orleans In Washington, D.C., hundreds of people braved searing heat, many carrying “Justice for Trayvon Martin” signs, almost all chanting “No justice, no peace.” Hellen Smith, 45, brought her 14 year old daughter. The Maryland state human resources manager said she had mixed emotions about the verdict. She said jurors may not have had enough evidence to convict, but added that “We have to stand up for any person of any race who has been unjustly murdered.”
Terri White, 60, a Baltimore psychotherapist said she was “disappointed in the system” after Zimmerman was acquitted. “I have two African Americans sons and grandsons and I want to see things change for them.”
Washington resident Ralph Reynaud, 69, said the verdict shows that many people connect more easily with Zimmerman than with a Black teen. “There was no justice,” Reynaud said. “The letter if the law was executed, but the spirit of it was invalidated.”
In Asheville, N.C., where about 50 people gathered at Vance Monument to tolerance, 16-year-old Liana Murray collected signatures on a petition urging the U.S. Justice Department to file charges against Zimmerman.
“He racially profiled and stalked a child and shot him because he was wearing a hoodie,” Murray said. “Wearing a hoodie and being a Black young man in the U.S. is something seen as suspicious.”
Most of the rallies and vigils were taking place outside federal court buildings. Sharpton said the vigils will be followed by a conference next week in Miami to develop a plan to address Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
The rallies came a day after President Obama, speaking to reporters at an impromptu gathering in the White House briefing room, said that all Americans should respect the jury’s acquittal of Zimmerman, but that white Americans should also understand that African Americans are pained by Trayvon Martin’s death and continue to face racial discrimination.
Obama told reporters that, like other African Americans, he has been followed by security guards while shopping, and has seen motorists lock their doors or women hold tighter to their purses as he walked near them. “Those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida.”
“I think it’s important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away,” Obama said, and “it’s going to be important for all of us to do some soul-searching.”
The president also questioned the wisdom of Florida’s “stand your ground” law and suggested people consider whether Trayvon also had the right to stand his ground, adding: “Do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?”
The president said in his first on-camera response to Saturday's verdict. "In the African- American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here. I think it's important to recognize that the African- American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away."
Zimmerman, 29, shot Martin, who was 17, claiming it was in self-defense. The not guilty verdict triggered outrage in cities across the country.
Making a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, the president said African American men, in particular, have become accustomed to being viewed with suspicion.
"There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me," he said.
"There are very few African-American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me, at least before I was a senator. There are very few African-Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often," he said.
A senior white house aide told ABC News that after watching the debate over the Zimmerman verdict for five days and talking about it privately with family and friends, including first lady Michelle Obama, the president called his senior staff into the Oval Office Thursday afternoon to say he wanted to "speak from the heart" and make some personal remarks about Martin's death and trial.
The president decided the best thing to do would be to come to the briefing room unannounced and deliver his heartfelt remarks directly to reporters.
The president said the African-American community is not "naïve" to the fact that young African-American men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, both as victims and perpetrators, but that a lack of context adds to the public frustration.
"We understand that some of the violence that takes place in poor black neighborhoods around the country is born out of a very violent past in this country, and that the poverty and dysfunction that we see in those communities can be traced to a very difficult history," he said. "So folks understand the challenges that exist for African-American boys, but they get frustrated, I think, if they feel that there's no context for it and that context is being denied."
The president called for a review of the "stand your ground laws," but stopped short of calling for a national dialogue on race relations, saying attempts by politicians to drive those discussions "end up being stilted and politicized."
"For those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these 'stand your ground' laws, I just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?" Obama asked. "If the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws."
As a nation, the president said, "We need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our African-American boys."
"I'm not naive about the prospects of some brand new federal program. I'm not sure that that's what we're talking about here. But I do recognize that as president, I've got some convening power," he said.
Finally, he urged Americans to do some "soul-searching" and was optimistic that progress is occurring.
"Things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn't mean that we're in a postracial society. It doesn't mean that racism is eliminated. But you know, when I talk to Malia and Sasha and I listen to their friends and I see them interact, they're better than we are. They're better than we were on these issues," he said.
Obama underscored that "in a case such as this, reasonable doubt was relevant, and [the jury] rendered a verdict. And once the jury's spoken, that's how our system works."
On behalf of himself and the First Lady, the president offered his thoughts and prayers to the family of Trayvon Martin, saying they have dealt with the situation with "incredible grace and dignity."
"I can only imagine what they're going through, and it's -- it's remarkable how they've handled it," he said.
Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, issued a statement saying, "We are deeply honored and moved that President Obama took the time to speak publicly and at length about our son, Trayvon."
They said the president's comment that he "sees himself in Trayvon ... is a beautiful tribute to our boy."
Zimmerman's legal team also put out a statement.
"We acknowledge Mr. Obama's remarks regarding the frustration felt by some when viewed in context of our nation's history, which includes racial insensitivities spanning generations, and existing even today, including within our criminal justice system," the statement said.
"While we acknowledge the racial context of the case, we hope that the president was not suggesting that this case fits a pattern of racial disparity, because we strongly contend that it does not," the statement said.
