Trayvon Martin: how social media turned the death of a black teen into a national moment of truth (624 hits)
GET READY ,,NO JUSTICE NO PEACE !! It started slowly - a few cryptic messages on Twitter such as "Where is the justice?" and "R.I.P. TrayvonMartin".3:52PM GMT 23 Mar 2012 Then, one tweet from one radio host started a chain reaction that propelled the killing of an unarmed black teen from a local story of a family's grief to a national story of protest and outrage. Today President Barack Obama called for a full investigation into the killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old shot dead by a white Neighbourhood Watch volunteer as he walked home in Sanford, Florida on February 26. The volunteer, George Zimmerman, has not been arrested thanks to a section of Florida law known as "Stand your ground". The case caused a local outcry almost immediately, but it was thanks to social media that news of Trayvon's death reached the ears of the President. A day after the killing, nationally syndicated radio host Michael Baisden sent out a message to his 65,000 Twitter followers and 585,000 Facebook fans, adding a few details.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Trayvon-Martin/278155035593734
