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Marchers mobilize for justice on 'Hoodie Day'

Carrying signs and reciting chants reminiscent of the Civil Rights Movement, protestors moved up Bailey Avenue Monday in support of prosecution of the man who allegedly killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.The event is called National Hoodie Day because that's what Martin was wearing when he was killed in February of last year in Sanford, Florida. The criminal trial of accused killer George Zimmerman started Monday.

The signs carried by the local crowd reflected a mix of issues, reading 'United Against Racism' and 'Stop Racial Profiling.' Musa, who was running the event, says the event marks present and past injustices.

"We march for Trayvon. We marching for justice. You have a lot of unjust causes here in America. But the main day today is the Hoodie Day for Trayvon and we are showing solidarity with him and his family and other victims of racial brutality," Musa says.

Musa says it was a protest of violence against people of color over the centuries, not just the 'black on black' violence of recent years.

The march along Bailey from Winspear to Langfield was sponsored by an array of community organizations. Musa says a major goal is to get young people jobs so they can have a future.

"What they want to do is get themselves jobs [and] get involved with the community. They want to know everything about their surroundings that's not just all bad," says Corey Chatman with the group Teens in Progress.

The march eventually assembled in front of the Buffalo Police E District Station.

 

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.