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Two events of significance tomorrow morning related to Trayvon Martin.
At 9 o’clock, County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is holding a community meeting in his office, convening his Empowerment Congress in an emergency session called Days of Dialogue.
Says Mr. Ridley-Thomas:
“To debate and discuss issues regarding Trayvon Martin's tragic death and the recent exoneration of his killer, George Zimmerman. In small groups, participants will discuss a broad range of topics and reactions arising from this case.”
The address for the scheduled 2½ hours: Exposition Park Constituent Service Center, 700 Exposition Park Dr., just east of the Coliseum. See daysofdialogue.org
At 11 o’clock, several miles away in Pershing Square, at 6th and Hill Sts., mainly the left-wing Answer LA group and the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network are sponsoring a demonstration on behalf of Mr. Martin.
Their message:
“Join major civil rights and community organizations as we stay in the streets demanding justice for Trayvon Martin.
“In a bizarre twist following the Zimmerman trial, one of the jurors revealed to the mass media what millions knew all along–that Zimmerman got away with murder. But Zimmerman is still walking free, continuing to be assisted by the police, from a Sanford cop staging a bogus “rescue” by Zimmerman as a PR stunt, to giving him a free pass when pulled over in Texas. Meanwhile, Marissa Alexander sits in prison with a decades-long sentence for defending herself against an abusive husband, exposing the racist double-standard of Florida's Stand Your Ground law.
“A movement is growing to not only force civil rights charges on George Zimmerman, but to challenge the structures and institutional racism at the root of these issues. Rally on Saturday in Pershing Square to keep the movement against racism pushing forward.
Sponsored by: ANSWER LA; National Action Network – Los Angeles; Project Islamic Hope; S.C.L.C. (Southern Christian Leadership Conference); Coalition for Community Control Over the Police; Community Education for Social Action (CESA); KmB – Pro-People Youth; Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD) and others.
Opinion
One man’s comment: Gentlemen, if conversation were a panacea, the next time I have a medical matter, I will shun my doctor. Instead, I will gather my family and Supervisor Ridley-Thomas about me. We will have a conversation for 2 ½ hours, after which I expect to fly away irreversibly cured.
Or:
After the Dodgers’ next loss, I expect the Dodger players to dash downtown and riot at Pershing Square. En route, the manager should dial Supervisor Ridley-Thomas. Plainly, MRT has oodles of spare time. Ask the Supervisor to stage a similar Days of Dialogue session for the Dodgers to determine why a group of talented, decent athletes should be forced to accept a defeat that surely was undeserved.
