Dennis RomeroUpdate at 11:20 a.m. See LA Weekly contributor Ted Soqui's photos from Monday's march here. First posted at 7:09 a.m. yesterday.
A demonstration seeking justice for an unarmed 17-year-old shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida will kick off in downtown Los Angeles today.
The case of Trayvon Martin, an African American teen who was walking to a family friend's home near Orlando when he was was shot last month, has set the nation abuzz over race: His shooter, 26-year-old George Zimmerman, has not been arrested.
The Million Hoodie March …
… is a nationwide movement to put a spotlight on Martin's fate and the justice system's treatment of victims of different races.
Los Angeles has already been the site of rallies for Martin, including one over the weekend. The Million Hoodie March refers to the victim's hooded sweatshirt, which Geraldo Rivera suggested last week could be the source of trouble for any American teenager.
The case, of course, is as complicated as race in America itself. Zimmerman has an Anglo name but is half Latino and certainly doesn't look white.
He had a history of calling 911, and in the case of Martin, he appeared to chase down the kid as he talked to a 911 operator who told him to stop. Commotion ensued, and then gunfire. Zimmerman claimed self defense and cops, apparently, believed him.
Martin had gone to the store for Skittles and a beverage. Zimmerman said he was “suspicious.”
After the case came to light Zimmerman's record of calling 911, usually about African Americans in the gated community. He had also wanted to become a cop.
L.A.'s version of the Million Hoodie March starts at City Hall at 4 p.m.
[Added at 11:25 a.m.]: A commenter, below, and this site say the march starts at Pershing Square, at West 5th and Hill streets.
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