Journalism senior Tyler Clifford, left, and graduate student Joseph Harris hold signs protesting the verdict of the Trayvon Martin case, July 14, 2013, on Grand River Avenue. “Some people have the luxury to ignore this, but I feel like I can’t,” Harris said.
Seated on a lawn chair on the divider on Grand River Avenue, graduate student Joseph Harris single-handedly protested the verdict of the controversial Trayvon Martin case on Sunday night.
As the New York Times reported, in February 2012, Martin, a 17-year old black male was shot to death by George Zimmerman in Florida. The result was a hurricane of national controversy surrounding racial tensions and gun violence.
Well over a year later, it was determined on Saturday night by a six-woman jury that Zimmerman was not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter. The jury found that Zimmerman was justified in shooting Martin because he was in danger of great bodily harm or death.
Harris said it was his duty as a father of a young black man to let people know that he’s upset about the verdict.
“I have a 19-month-old son and he’s going to grow up and he’s going to look like Trayvon one day, you know?” Harris said. “When I heard the verdict, it made me sick to my stomach. Not just as a black man but as a father of a soon-to-be black man. I just wanted my voice to be heard.”
Harris protested by the Marriott at University Place, 300 M.A.C. Ave., from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday night after the verdict was passed. He shifted to Grand River Avenue on Sunday starting from 5:30 p.m. with plans to remain until 9 or 10 p.m.
“Some people have good responses, some people have predictable responses,” Harris said. “Some people honk. Some people yell semi-quasi-racist stuff out the window. That’s to be expected, right?”
Harris had signs that said “Trayvon Martin Was Lynched,” “Justice For Trayvon,” and “It’s a hoodie, don’t shoot.”
He also had blank signs in case people wanted to join his protest.
Harris’s ultimate goal was to make people think.
“I think it’s a shame in 2013 that the justice system failed us so horribly,” Harris said. “I think it’s a shame that a young black man can’t walk in his own neighborhood without fear of getting shot for no other reason than he didn’t look like he belonged.”
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