TAMPA - While thousands protested in Sanford in support of the family of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, a group of activists gathered in Tampa at the University of South Florida to call for justice in the Martin case.
Emmanual Catalan is chair of the USF College Democrats.
" I, as an African-American, should not be fearful of walking down a street and worry about the prospects of me being gunned down, because I fit the stereotype of a criminal because I'm wearing a hoodie, " he said, "and most importantly, I happen to be black."
Joyce Hamilton Henry, executive director of the ACLU's Central Florida office, blamed state lawmakers for passing the "stand your ground" law used by Zimmerman.
"If George Zimmerman is claiming self defense on Florida's Stand Your Ground law, " she said during a press conference at the university's Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, "then the hand of our legislature may as well have been on the gun that shot Trayvon."
