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Hundreds of students at several South Florida high schools staged walkouts Friday morning in a massive protest against the lack of an arrest in the Trayvon Martin shooting.
Students from Miami Central, Miami Edison, Miami Norland, American Senior, William H. Turner High and Southridge High in Miami and Blanche Ely High School in Broward held walkouts.
Click here for a complete list of Miami-Dade County schools that held walkouts.
At Miami Central and Turner, students were seen pouring out of the school buildings and into the streets just after 9 a.m.
In Culter Bay, at Miami Southridge High School students formed a "TM" on a field in support of Martin.
See video, read the original story on the walkout at NBCMiami.com
Miami-Dade Police also reported a crowd of students had congregated at Southland Mall.
Miami-Dade Schools Police spokesman Sgt. Ivan Silva said there had been no incidents reported.
"Our job is to make sure the demonstrations are being run in safe and peaceful manner," Silva said.
Miami-Dade Police said they were helping with crowd control as well.
Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew said the protests in that county were organized with the help of the school staff.
In Miami, students from more than a dozen schools staged a walkout to protest the lack of an arrest in the shooting of a black Florida teen. NBC's Ron Allen reports.
"For the most part they are being organized and are being supported by the school family as an outpouring show of support," she said. "I think the reaction is similar to the national reaction. I don't think our students are any different than others."
Republicans join call for Trayvon Martin inquiry
In Miami-Dade, the school district sent out a statement saying Martin's mother wanted students to honor him through reflection, not walkouts.
"While we respect the expression of emotion by our students, we ask that they remain focused on their education," said Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. "Our most important mission is to provide a safe learning environment for students, and so we are asking them to respect the wishes of Trayvon's mother by celebrating his memory not through walkouts, but through reflection and civic participation."
Students at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, where Martin was attending when he was killed, were going to make a banner for Martin that will be signed by students.
NBC Miami
An aerial photo shows students in Miami forming a TM on a football field in protest of the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
Also on Friday, President Barack Obama called the incident a "tragedy," saying that if he had a son, "he would look like Trayvon." Martin's family thanked the president in an email statement.
Obama: 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'
"We'd like to thank the President and the millions of people from around the world who have shown their support for Trayvon by participating in hoodie marches, rallies or through social media. We are all working together to not only get justice for Trayvon, but also to ensure that this kindof senseless tragedy doesn't happen to another child."
On Thursday, students at Miami's Carol City High School staged a massive walkout outside the Miami Gardens school. Police said the school's principal had approved of an on-campus demonstration but that students left school grounds.
Martin, 17, was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on Feb. 26 in Sanford.
Martin was visiting with his father at his father's girlfriend's home in a gated community and had gone to buy a bag of Skittles and iced tea at a nearby convenience store and was walking back when the shooting happened.
Gerardo Mora / Getty Images
Trayvon Martin's photo is seen during a protest this week in Sanford, Fla.
Though Martin was unarmed, Zimmerman told police the shooting was self-defense, and no charges have been filed in the case.
Martin's 9th grade teacher, Noemy Pascual, remembered him as a good student. He went to George T. Baker Aviation School two years ago, and she taught him three classes of Aerospace Technology.
"He was a normal student. He was well-behaved. He passed all the classes," she said.
She said he left the school because he went to live with his father in Miami Gardens.
"Really, we always feel bad because to lose a young life. It's terrible," she said. "I told my husband 'Oh, he was my student."
Thursday night, the Rev. Al Sharpton held a rally in Sanford with Martin's parents to push for Zimmerman's arrest. Hours before the rally, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. announced he was temporarily stepping down until the completion of the Martin shooting investigation.
"We did not come here for a temporary leave of absence. We came for permanent justice," Sharpton said. "From top to bottom, we don’t need temporary relief. We need permanent change."
NBC's legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie and managing editor of TheGrio.com, Joy-Ann Reid, offer their take on the Trayvon Martin case.
About a half-hour into the rally, which was attended by around 8,000 people, word came that Gov. Rick Scott had appointed a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation into Martin's death.
The governor said he appointed Angela Corey, a prosecutor for the Jacksonville area, to lead the investigation after Norman Wolfinger, the state attorney for Seminole and Brevard counties, recused himself.
Scott also appointed a task force led by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll to hold hearings about the shooting and make recommendations for changing state laws and procedures.
The U.S. Justice Department and FBI are also investigating the shooting. Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, met with representatives from both departments before Thursday night's rally to discuss the case.
Sharpton told those gathered at the rally that "Zimmerman should have been arrested that night" and that police had probable cause.
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Leave a Comment:
"Some people say I'm a dreamer, but I am not the only one". It isn't hard to get along with people. It all boils down to customs, traditions, and upbringing as to why our world is this way. Only we the people have the knowledge and capability of making a change that, again, is very easy to make.
What good does this do, bring the kid back to life and solve the problem? NO. From what I see any excuse will do to skip a day of school.
Everyone knows Zimmerman was wrong and deserves prison/execution. I am positive he will get it.
Everyone knows? Wow, you must live in a tiny world if everyone agrees on anything in your world.
Get real and shut up.
pursue a kid in direct violation to what was instructed by 911. Shoot same UNARMED kid and kill him.
They will get him (not murder 1, though - murder 2 probably) and yes, JJ he DESERVES IT (now crawl back under your rock, please...it's NOT the type of case that "stand your ground" means)
canary - He was not "instructed" to do anything by 911. The quote is "We don't need you to do that". THAT is not an instruction or an order.
Perhaps you should get a better education because your response indicates you are not the sharpest rock in the box.
common sense 101 ; no black man would ever get away with killing a child , because he thought his skittles would attack him !!!!!!!!!!!! ; i hope common sense will rule the day
Black men get away with killing children Trayvon's age every day in LA/Oakland/any other black community.
did you say fl. ???
while not FloriDUH, rachel is correct - it happens - usually random shooting if under about 15, though.
Any excuse for cutting school--any but the thousands of black youth who look JUST LIKE Trayvon, being killed by other black youth who look JUST LIKE Trayvon!
How about they do some protesting of those murders?
Because people get arrested. This wasn't even investigated. They didn't even bother to try and find out who he was for 3 days!
Rick, you live in fairyland if you believe people get arrested for black on black crime. The vast majority goes unsolved.
and it is usually because they know exactly who was the shooter and they don't want to be NEXT.
How about protesting the 13 yr old boy SET ON FIRE by two black 16 yr olds because he was white?
MSN doesn't handle black on white crime.
Why isn't the media showing a current picture?
Look at
He was 6'2" and a football player--i.e. not skinny
I think it would mean a lot more to the nation if students chose to protest after school hours during free time and on the weekend.
Can't have that it would interfere with their off time and take away from their "me" time.
It's sad and tragic and Zimmerman deserves what's coming to him,but all of this is kind of getting a bit out of control.
This mess is leading into all sorts of new violence.
In Kansas this past Tuesday: A 13yo white boy was doused with gasoline & set afire by two 16yo black boys. The two exclaimed as they lit him on fire "This is what you get White Boy"
The boy survived with extreme burns on his face and hands. No arrest has been made yet and the racial motivation of the crime has been kept hushed by national media.
Black on white/Asian/Hispanic crime is always hushed up. After all, only blacks can suffer racial prejudice.
DBF, there is no known suspect yet, so it's not a comparison. But you know that. This is just an opportunity to air a little bigotry.
Maybe now is the time for white people to take a stand. If we wen out and rioted every time a white person was assaulted by a black Person/people maybe the media would take notice . As it is, only the blacks get their attention, along with Obama's backing. I guess playing golf and basketball isn't enough to keep him busy when he isn't vacationing at the taxpayers expense.
Rick, king of excuse-makers, the attacked boy said the perpetrators told him it was because he was white. The fact that they melted back into the criminal population from which they came, making it difficult to i.d. them, is not an excuse for avoiding calling it a hate crime. Don't obfuscate!
Rachel deary, if you want to talk about whether actions are called hate crimes or not, fine, but you can't change your topic, then accuse other of ignoring it.
if you want to be a racist rach, you get ignored just like the others
I think that most all of this is laughable except that someone is dead. No one knows the details of this incident yet. Mr. Zimmerman says that Mr. Martin came at him and that is totally possible. If Treyvon Martin thought he was being followed and tried running away, thereby causing Mr. Zimmerman to chase after him, he may have decided that rather than run he would turn and defend himself after seeing he was being chased. Tragically this could be a case of simply misunderstanding eachother's actions, but for sure none of this appears to be racially motivated. Mr. Zimmerman didn't even tell the 911 operator that the person he was following was black until he was asked to describe him.
Another tragedy that the libs want to sieze and use to further their agenda. How sad and how dispicable.
From the looks of things, Zimmereman took steps to clear up any misunderstanding that may have existed on his part ~ ~ ~ ~ rather permanently.
Jim, The last of the 911 tapes has someone hollering for help in the background all the way up until the gunshot, which is also plainly audable on the recording. If the one yelling was Mr. Zimmerman, you probably have a case of self defense. If it was Mr. Martin you have a case of 2nd dgree murder or manslaughter. I would also assume that the officers that arrived on the scene did see some signs of a struggle to support Mr. Zimmerman's claims or the case would have received a more involved investigation.
SO, what has race to do with any of this. Why is this a national story with even the President taking a shot at making political hay of this sad incident?.. Why is Al Sharpton in Florida instead of at the funeral home with his deceased mother's body awaiting her funeral like most people would be.?
How about active protests of the Asian elderly targeted in the Bay Area by blacks in racist attacks the PC press refused to see as hate crimes? An old man in Oakland knocked down and killed, old ladies thrown on trolley tracks...
Rachel - pay attention! People were arrested, unlike in this case, were the killer is known and not arrested.
Rick! Pay attention. No, people were not always arrested and worse, HATE CRIMES were not charged.
Nice try Rachel, but your racism is showing. If the killer is not known, he/she can't be arrested. That is not the case in the killing of Trayvon Miller
It's your racism that's showing, Rick. I'm talking about calling those attacks HATE CRIMES. Apparently you feel only blacks can suffer hate crimes and they cannot perpetrate them.
Takes a weak mind to call someone asking for equality "racist." YOU HAVE A WEAK MIND.
The press doesn't get to declare anything a hate crime. Follow the bouncing ball.
It must be National Hang the Hispanic Day!
He only responded to a question by the media genius, he didn't go off on a campaign speech. And that means he doesn't care about our soldiers? He removed them from Iraq as planned....HE's removing them from Afghan. soon, though not soon enough, he's doing so sooner than the request of his generals. Yep, he has to be a racisit, os much evidence. Way to briing your hate for our current Prez into a discussion about a guy who seemed to utter a racial slur on a recorded call and then killed a adolescent who just happened to be that race. And I'm white and not a treehugger.
Because he's supposed to be our "Post Racial President" but has been anything but post-racial. He didn't have to say he identified with this death because "if he had a son it would look like Trayvon," he could have said, "The death of any child, especially in this manner, is reprehensible."
But what do you expect of someone who "didn't hear one bad word out of Rev. Wright's mouth in 20 years?"
Oh, give us a break here, Rachel. Had he uttered the very words you have provided for him, you would take him to task over the way he said them. Were Obama to die on the spot, you would bitch and complain that he took too long to do it. If you think we have ever been "post racist" then you have lived a cloistered life ~ and definitely not in the South.
It was what he campaigned on, Jim. Bringing us all together. Hasn't made a step toward that.
Rachel, Who is acting like a racist now? YOU!!!!!
I am very pleased to see those young people of his community stepping out to take a stand for justice. I'm sure that many of them realize that the next time it could be them, or a friend. It's time that we, the adults, take a stand against the jack-asses as personified by Zimmerman and the Sanford Police Department.
To those of you who found some excuse to turn this into a political issue, please seek professional help. You have an addiction problem - an addiction to politics - if you can't even read this without turning to political bickering. You are obsessed. I don't care if you're playing for the red team or the blue team, you're an addict. You're as bad as any teenager who can't stop playing World of Warcraft or any crackhead who can't get off drugs. Your mind is not healthy, and you should be worrying about fixing it before you worry about any politics again. Go now.
This brings up the case of Jerome Ersland in Oklahoma City, Ok. When two young black youths attempted to rob his pharmacy and he shot and killed one of them to keep himself and other employees from being injured. Now He is in prison. Sometimes justice is unjust. The man should get a medal but gets a long prison term instead.
Now you can't protect yourself or others around you if you are being attacked by blacks. Something has to change, and soon.
Not the same thing. He reloaded and shot him 9 more times. AFTER HE WAS DOWN! You don't get to use only the facts you want to make a point Tell the whole story!!!!!
Mr. Ersland apparently considered the guy still a threat.If you have never been in a similar situation then you wouldn't know the effects of having your life threatened. Those young men walked into that pharmacy with the intent of robbing whoever was there and stealing drugs. They were prepared to shoot and kill in order to accomplish that goal. It was a totally premeditated plan on their part. Fortunately Mr. Ersland was able to prevent himself and others from being killed.
A few weeks earlier another pharmacy had been robbed and the pharmacist was killed. It may have been the same two youths that committed that crime.
Even if he was down, that was no guarantee that he was going to stay down. It's better to be safe than sorry, or killed.
Hope that Zimmerman should be in jail, not later, but sooner. And this is the very first for the sincere apology from the police department and this is very first step to reconcile the racial disaster.
If things keep spiraling out of control, Zimmerman may himself demand to be locked up ~ in protective custody ~ before someone caps his ass.
Good for them! The guy who shot him should be in jail charged with murder. I don't care what their stupid law says...if that is the law, then anyone can kill anyone.
Where was the anger and outrage by Al Sharpton and the rest of the worthless b@stards when Nicole Simpson and Golman's murderer was set free?
You don't have to go that far back ~ ~ ~ or that far west. Where were they when Casey Anthony was set free by a Florida jury. Oh, they busted her on some misdemeanor charges but her dead baby is still awaiting justice ~ ~ and is still dead, like Trayvon. Florida and California justice seems to have a parallel.
I can see where the police officer felt threatened...he came fully armed and dangerouss...with a bag of skittles..
thoughts go out to trayvon's friends and family. such a sad story
There is something else going on here and I don't know what it is. The Police would have nothing to loose by arresting and charging Zimmerman. He would then be released on bail pending trail. If the facts support Zimmerman's contention under the law, he would most likely be found innocent. While some might not like that verdict, justice would have been served. What does the Police Department have to gain by not arresting Zimmerman? Why put themselves in such a major PR bind? Who is Zimmerman's lawyer? Who is paying that lawyer? Can anyone opine on this?
Trayvon had a long criminal record, apparently Mr. Zimmerman has a clean record. That says a lot about a person. Those that live by the sword shall die by the sword. Until ALL facts are in people should stay out of it and leave it for the police to resolve.
Rangewolf: Your statement above is made of whole cloth.
This was a pre-riot walkthrough. In Wis. the black flash mobs attacking whites and where the arrests there? Let's just have a black vs white war. Finally settle this junk.
What kind of a name is "Trayvon"???? Why do black people name their keeds after over the counter medicine??
Tylenolla
Advilla
Aspirina
Acetaminophena
So a man who is defending his neighborhood after a rash of home invasions by black males is vilified but there was absolutely no outrage after Shawn Tyson(17 year old black male) targeted robbed and murdered two white tourists. Trayvon didnt live in this neighborhood and honestly what do African Americans expect to happen when your race commits a disproportionate amount of crime in an area then people are going to be afraid of you and look at you suspiciously and be fearful. All you have to do is use common sense. A full investigation is justified but as of right now no crime has been committed if Trayvon assaulted Mr. Zimmerman and Mr Zimmerman felt threaten for his life. Furthermore Mr. Zimmerman was never told by police not to pursue Trayvon his was told that that "they didnt need him to do that" which is not an "order" by an means.
There is no evidence whatsoever that the burglaries were committed by blacks ~ either male or female. There were no witnesses to the burglaries and no arrests made. Do you make this @!$%# up as you go along or is there a program guide to follow?
The students are losers, getting 5 minutes of fame thanks to the media.
Worry more about learning the law and why it allows Zimmerman to be free.
Worry more about proving that Zimmerman's account is false -- if you can. Good luck.
That's what they said about us in junior high when we walked out after the Kent State shootings 40-some odd years ago. But you might be right because that did not prevent us from getting into Afghanistan or Iraq--two other worthwhile causes. Oh, I should point out that my running shoes were made in Vietnam--the capitalists! I applaud the students and the young. Perhaps they will make a difference where we did not.