Students to march on Franklin Street for Trayvon Martin

Students will gather in front of the post office on Franklin Street at 11:20 a.m. today to march in honor of a slain Florida teen.

Trayvon Martin, a black 17-year-old, was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman last month. Zimmerman remains free because he says he shot Martin in self-defense.

Protesters in Chapel Hill are following in the footsteps of other cities in questioning this claim during an hour-long march.

“I don’t see the deadly force,” said Rev. Robert Campbell, the president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP, in reference to Martin being unarmed. “It just does not add up.”

The march will be followed by a rally in the Pit that will include speakers and online petitions.

Junior Alexis Davis, the incoming president of the UNC Black Student Movement, said that the march and rally will be an opportunity to educate people about the incident.

“It looks like a case based on race,” she said.

But Davis said she would not want something like Trayvon’s shooting to happen to anyone, regardless of what race they are.

Members of the BSM met Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Stone Center to make posters for the march.

Senior Eric Campbell, president of the group, said that a crowd of around 100 people is expected to attend the march.

He said the march is meant to be an event where everyone can come together.

“It’s not an issue just for the black community,” he said.

Because they have been busy with an NAACP convention for the eastern seaboard, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP has not had a chance to plan a similar event in honor of Trayvon Martin, Campbell said, although rallies have been organized in Raleigh and Durham.

But he said in light of the shooting, action needs to be taken to uphold America’s reputation as a peaceful nation.

“Too many of our young people are going to the grave before their time,” he said.

And Eric Campbell said that he thinks the U.S. justice system needs to be re-evaluated.

“This could just as easily happen on Carolina’s campus,” he said.

The march is being organized by the BSM; Building Bonds, Breaking B.A.R.S.; National Pan-Hellenic Council; Campus Y and the Asian Student Association.

On Monday, the groups that organized the march will meet with the UNC Black Law Students Association in order to assess the legal aspects of the Martin case.

After the forum, another march will start at the law school fountain and end at the Stone Center.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.