Thread: Students honor Trayvon’s memory by looting Walgreens

Students honor Trayvon’s memory by looting Walgreens

Posted on March 27, 2012 by crawdad
VIDEO at link.
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Police: Trayvon protesters ransack store

North Miami Beach police said surveillance video shows dozens of high school students demonstrating in the Trayvon Martin case Friday ransacking a Walgreens store.

The incident occurred during a walkout from North Miami Beach Senior High School in support of Martin, 17, who was fatally shot in Sanford. Protesters have been calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman, 28, who has not been charged because he claimed self-defense in the shooting, according to police.

Minutes after walking out of their school Friday, a large group of students walked through the streets of North Miami Beach. Along the way, they stopped at a Walgreens at 163rd Street and 15th Avenue at about 10:40 a.m.

Surveillance video shows dozens of teenagers running through the store. Police said about 80 to 100 students stormed in, ransacking the shelves, before the school’s vice principal ordered everyone outside.

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Trayvon Martin was killed in Sanford, Florida – several hundred miles north of Miami. Walgreens had no involvement in the shooting.

The worst part is the looters discredited other protestors of the killing. Let’s hope this was an isolated incident and there aren’t any copy-cat incidents. Otherwise sooner or later someone will get hurt.

Students honor Trayvon’s memory by looting Walgreens « The Crawdad Hole

Posted: 1:47 PM Mar 28, 2012

High School Students Protesting Trayvon Case Loot Walgreens

Police say scores of South Florida students who walked out of school to protest the Trayvon Martin shooting investigation instead ransacked a Walgreens.
Reporter: CBS News
VIDEO @
High School Students Protesting Trayvon Case Loot Walgreens

Trayvon Martin Dogged By Disciplinary Problems at School

By MATT GUTMAN | Good Morning America – Tue, Mar 27, 2012 11:18 AM EDT...

Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager shot dead during a scuffle with a neighborhood watchman, was suspended from his Miami school three times over the past year, according to the family attorney.

The revelation that Martin, 17, was dogged by disciplinary problems at school was the latest salvo in a war of leaks meant to bolster each side amid rising tension over the Feb. 26 shooting.

Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, will appear before a House panel today and rallies continue around the country demanding that George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old watchman who shot Martin, be arrested.

Martin's Miami school records show that he has been suspended three times.

Family attorney Benjamin Crump confirmed to ABC News that Martin had been slapped with a 10 day school suspension after a bag with suspected marijuana was found in his backpack.

Last year Martin was suspended for spraying graffiti on school grounds. The Miami Herald reported that the school guard who stopped him searched his backpack and found 12 items of women's jewelry and a flathead screw driver that the guard believed to be a "burglary implement." But Martin was never charged or specifically disciplined for the incident.

Crump alleged that the Sanford police had leaked damaging information about Martin into order to muddy the case, calling it a "conspiracy." Crump called the school disciplinary problems "irrelevant" to the case that "an unarmed 17 year kid was killed."

The case has triggered national interest with pro-Martin rallies in cities from coast to coast. Martin's mother has moved to trademark two popular rallying cries, "I am Trayvon" and "Justice for Trayvon." The family said it does not want want other people printing memorabilia.

"Sybrina Fulton has no desire to profit from her son's death, but wants to protect her son's name legacy," said family representative Ryan Julison.

Martin was shot as he made his way to his father's fiance's house while returning from a convenience store where he bought a pack of Skittles and iced tea. He was followed by Zimmerman who found him suspicious.

At some point, Zimmerman ignored the suggestion from a 911 dispatcher that he stop following Martin, left his truck and went to look for Martin.

At the same time, Martin was on the phone with his girlfriend and complained that someone was following him.

What happened then is not clear. The girlfriend has said that she heard Martin ask someone, "Why are you following me?" before the sounds of a scuffle and the phone was disconnected.

Zimmerman is described as 5-foot-9 and well over 200 pounds while Martin was 6-foot-3 and 150 pounds.

Leaks from the police report detail Zimmerman telling police he was heading back to his truck when Martin knocked him down with a punch to his nose, jumped on him, repeatedly banged his head on the ground, then tried to grab Zimmerman's gun.

In a struggle for Zimmerman's gun, the watchman shot the teenager, Zimmerman told police.

Trayvon Martin Dogged By Disciplinary Problems at School - Yahoo!

Parents turn Trayvon Martin's case turns into brand

Updated 3h 45m ago

MIAMI (AP) – From the T-shirt and hoodie sales to trademarking slogans like "Justice for Trayvon" to the pass-the-hat rallies that bring in thousands, the case of an unarmed black teenager killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer is quickly turning into an Internet-fueled brand.

Websites are hawking key chains bearing Trayvon Martin's likeness. His parents have bought two trademarks, saying they hope to raise money to help other families struck by tragedy. Trayvon clothes, bumper stickers, buttons and posters are up for grabs on eBay.

Vendors selling Martin T-shirts and hoodies have become fixtures at rallies in Sanford, the central Florida town where Martin was shot last month. At one Sanford rally this week, a man had a variety of T-shirts laid out on the ground as marchers went by, yelling out, "I've got every size!"

BLOG: Rep. Rush removed for wearing hoodie
STORY: House panel seeks reviews in teen's death
STORY: Lawyer: Trayvon's family seeks 'simple justice'

The Martin shooting by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who says he shot the 17-year-old Miami teen in self-defense, has inflamed racial tensions across the country, brought out thousands for rallies, prompted a civil rights probe and a personal reference to the case by President Barack Obama.

A phenomenon on that scale is bound to be commercialized, said Donna Hoffman, a marketing professor at the University of California-Riverside.

"People can start to wear their feelings and emotions. It makes sense, even if there's a profit motive," Hoffman said. "There's a legitimate interest in sharing the pain, and these products do that."

Van Johnson, who designs T-shirts and other apparel in Charlotte, N.C., said he initially wanted to come up with something for his 12-year-old son to show solidarity with Martin's supporters. He produced a color drawing based on a photograph of Martin wearing a hoodie, which the teenager was wearing on the night he was killed.

"I really don't expect to make more than $200 at the most," Johnson said. "I'm happy some people bought my products, that way a few people will have a very nice design on their shirt or hoodie to show their support."

Karriem Muhammad, who runs Young Nation Apparel in St. Louis, is selling a separate hoodie for $35 with the words "Please Don't Shoot Me I Only Have Skittles And A Drink!!!" Martin was returning from a convenience store with the candy and iced tea when he was confronted by Zimmerman.

George Zimmerman: Neighborhood watch captain involved in shooting death of Trayvon Martin

Orange County Jail via Miami Herald via AP"We really just kind of put the shirt out there this week. It's not necessarily profit at all," Muhammad said. "I wanted to bring some awareness to the issue. I felt it would be a good way to expose the store, to get our name out there."

Zimmerman, 28, who has a white father and Hispanic mother, has not been charged. Martin's parents have demanded he be arrested. The U.S. Justice Department has launched a probe to look for possible civil rights violations; a special state prosecutor is also investigating. Jackelyn Bernard, spokeswoman for special prosecutor Angela Corey, said Wednesday the investigation could take weeks and said it's unclear if a grand jury will be empaneled.

Hoffman said it's difficult to gauge how the Trayvon sales might stack up against those from similar cases, such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King beating, because those were before the explosion of Internet marketing.

"Anyone can do it with any image," she said.

Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, headed off potential profit-seekers by filing trademark applications last week for the words "Justice For Trayvon" and "I Am Trayvon." The applications say the slogans may be used in digital media formats including CDs and DVDs. A family attorney said Wednesday the purpose is mainly to prevent others from exploiting Martin's image.

"It wasn't to make money off Trayvon's name, it was to stop the exploitation of Trayvon's name," said the attorney, Natalie Jackson. "We wanted this family to own their child's legacy."

A sign company called FamilyGraphix decided this week to pull its Martin-related decals after learning of Fulton's move. One such decal, which was to sell for $8, said "Don't Shoot Me, All I Have Is A Bag of Skittles."

Johnson, the T-shirt designer, questioned Fulton's move.

"You would think the parents of Trayvon Martin would encourage the spreading of their son's name and image," he said. "As a parent of four, I personally would welcome any and all exposure. I would want my son's name everywhere."

At rallies and church services, thousands of dollars in pledges have been made to help Fulton and Tracy Martin, Martin's father, pay expenses including travel to events in Washington and New York, Jackson said. At one early rally, the Rev. Al Sharpton asked people to make out checks to Fulton and put them in buckets that were passed around.

"Let's show the world we're going to finance our own movement," said Sharpton, who pledged $2,500 himself.

The case has had other benefits for involved organizations. More than 30,000 people signed an NAACP petition to Florida prosecutors in just a 24-hour period. Eric Wingerter, spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people, says the organization hasn't used the case as a fundraising tool but has seen an uptick in memberships.

At some point, Hoffman said, the Trayvon Martin brand could wear thin if it's overused.

"People might feel, 'I'm sick of hearing about this.' That feeling could be accelerated if everywhere you turn, there are people wearing their hearts on their sleeve," Hoffman said. "All this merchandise out there will start to have a taint in the mind of the public."

Trayvon Martin's case turns into brand

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