- Chip Weiner
- Morris Corbin stands with Terence Henderson at Trayvon Martin rally in Tampa
Although there were more a dozen speakers who addressed a rally in downtown Tampa protesting the George Zimmerman/Travyon Martin verdict early Saturday afternoon, it was the last man at the microphone, activist Life Malcolm, who drew the loudest cheers.
He referenced how a Tampa white woman named Jennifer Porter ran over and killed two black children in North Tampa nearly a decade ago and never served time. Comparing that case to NFL quarterback Michael Vick going to prison for killing dogs, Malcolm deduced that black life simply isn't valued in America.
"We have to conclude that the African life in this country is worth about one dog foot ..you can kill an African and go home, but you kill a dog, you go to prison!"
Malcolm spoke in front of a crowd of several hundred that gathered in front of the federal building in downtown Tampa, with an overflow standing across the street on the west side of Florida Avenue. Similar rallies in front of federal court buildings were held around the country on Saturday as part of the 100-city "Justice for Trayvon" vigils, which included over 50 people marching Poynter Park to Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.
This article appears in Jul 18-24, 2013.