The parents of an unarmed black teenager shot to death by a Latino neighborhood watch captain in Florida made a vow to the demonstrators assembled at a New York City rally.
They promised to fight fervently for justice for Trayvon Martin, and not stop until it is served.
“Trayvon Martin was you, Trayvon Martin did matter,” said his father, Tracy Martin, over a megaphone, to the hundreds of people who participated in the “Million Hoodie March” in the teenager's memory in Union Square.
“My son did not deserve to die.”
Under metallic skies Wednesday, the parents spoke as chants of “I am Trayvon Martin” echoed from the crowd. The demonstrators, mostly minorities, reacted the parents' words with cries of “Shame! Shame!” and “We want arrests!”
This is not about a black or a white thing, this is about a right or wrong thing. - Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Mother
Martin's son, 17-year-old Trayvon, was killed Feb. 26, in Sanford, Fla.
The teen was returning to a gated community in the city after engaging in the most mundane of things -- buying Skittles and an iced tea at a convenience store. He was unarmed and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, or hoodie.
The neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, has not been charged in the shooting. Zimmerman has said the teen attacked him and he shot him in self-defense.
“Our son was not committing any crime - our son was your son,” said Sybrina Fulton, the youth's mother. “My heart is in pain, but to see the support from all of you really makes a difference.”
Trayvon Martin’s case has stirred civil rights activists across the country into action, and raised new questions in the debate over the Second Amendment.
Florida police said Monday that they may have missed a racial slur that Zimmerman uttered during the 911 call minutes before the shooting.
“I feel explosive," said Oz Agu, 21, an American student originally from Nigeria who was at the rally. "I feel betrayed by my country. I feel like history is repeating itself.”
“Our government is trash,” Candice Eawadi told Fox News Latino. “Our minority community and our poor community don’t have support.”
Zimmerman is Hispanic; his family has said he is not racist. Many who want to see Zimmerman prosecuted for the shooting death say it was racist because, as they see it, the sole color of the youth's skin seemed to set the man's actions in motion.
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