Hundreds Hold Vigil for Trayvon, Protest Against Verdict in Downtown Miami

Hundreds Hold Vigil for Trayvon, Protest Against Verdict in Downtown Miami 

Story & photographs by José Pérez

After a quiet, rainy night in which little if any public reaction to the non-guilty verdict handed down in the George Zimmerman case in Sanford, Florida was evident anywhere in Miami-Dade County, an evening vigil was held in downtown Miami in memory of Trayvon Martin, the Miami Gardens teenager who was killed during a nighttime encounter with Zimmerman in February 2012.    Organized in part by Dream Defenders and the Miami Workers Center, the event, which was part rally, part revival, was held at the Torch of Friendship on Biscayne Boulevard.  

Flanked by statues of Ponce de Leon and Bolivar, the vigil was held at the small park dedicated to the memory of assassinated U.S. President John Kennedy and was attended by a diverse group of people spanning differences in age, ethnicity, gender, et cetera.   It began under grey clouds filled with rain with a moment of silence for Martin, his family, and “other victims” of violence.  Thereafter, speakers lashed out at the verdict and what many in the crowd of almost 200 people felt was a troubling sign for the social fabric of the United States.

“The danger is not riots,” said Gonzalo Vizcardo of Dream Defenders, “it’s more George Zimmermans.”

Vizcardo said that the vigil was organized just hours before the verdict was announced late the previous night.     The group, which was organized in different cities in response to the death of Martin last year, was also active, according to Vizcardo, in bringing pressure to bear on Sanford Police and the Seminole County state attorney to pursue charges against Zimmerman.

Whitney Maxey [confirm] of the Miami Workers’ Center said that “this case was just an example of how communities of color are constantly trampled.”  

Tiara Miles, moved to Miami from Chicago earlier this year.   Miles was living in Louisville when news of Martin’s death first surfaced last year and attended rallies there.  Although she is enjoying her new life in Miami, she admitted that the verdict made it an “embarrassment” to live in Florida.

“What does that say about that state of Florida?”

Speaking to the growing group of concerned residents and curious tourists and random passerby, Marc Luzietti of One Struggle yelled, “There is a new Jim Crow today!”

Christian Demeritt of Miami also spoke the crowd. “I don’t want this to die down,” she said, “because it’s going to happen again.”

“It’s up to us! We are the people.”

State Senator Dwight Bullard (D) saw the vigil as an important opportunity for “coalition-building” with the hope that it could affect “real, positive change.”

Miles agreed.   “[The verdict] was “disheartening. It divided a lot of people.” The verdict, in fact, was a bigger concern for her than any worries about violence in response to it. “I didn’t even think about [civil disturbance].”

  

Michelle Madison, a local entrepreneur, was also moved by “the significance of the verdict [and] what it means for kids and justice.”

Bullard said that he was “happy to see that our community has gotten to a point that we can move past being angry.”   

Light rain began to fall just as crowd prepared to march to a couple of blocks up Biscayne Boulevard to the Freedom Tower just across the street from the American Airlines Arena, chanting “Peace for Trayvon!”   The chants grew louder as they neared their historic destination.   “What do we want? Justice!”  

When they arrived at the Freedom Tower, the group climbed defiantly on its steps as the rain fell stronger and the volume of the chants increased.   “I am Tray-von!”

Speakers called for a special legislative session to repeal the Stand Your Ground law that has been at the center of this case since last year. Demeritt, who said that the vigil was the first protest event she had attended since college, sang, with many singing with her. 

For organizers and supporters alike, the vigil was meant to be the catalyst for a paradigm change.  “We want to see a change,” said Maxey.   She and Bullard both spoke of what she called “bigger forces at play.”

 “There’s a need for people who understand,” said Miles who said she felt “fortunate” to be present at a moment of important significance. “We need to educate people on these social issues.”

*To read the version of this article as printed in the South Florida Times, please click on this urlink.

South Dade Rallies for Trayvon Martin

South Dade Rallies for Trayvon Martin 

Story and photographs by José Pérez

A small but vocal group of people concerned about the outcome of the George Zimmerman trial congregated at an empty lot at the intersection of US 1 and SW 200 Street in Cutler Ridge last Saturday, not realizing that the verdict was several hours from being announced.  Zimmerman was on trial in Sanford, Florida, accused of murdering Miami Gardens teenager, Trayvon Martin who was visiting his father in February 2012.

Wearing white “I am Trayvon Martin” t-shirts, the group of about 20 people stood on both sides of police barricades erected by Miami-Dade P

olice officers who maintained a discreet yet noticeable presence, holding signs and chanting the same slogan.  

Patricia Smith, a grandmother who lives just a few blocks from the site of the rally, was one of the the volunteers.  “This is my first time doing something like this.”   She was motivated to come out on a warm afternoon, she said, by “a mother’s love.”

Ron Fulton, uncle of Trayvon Martin, made the approximately 45 mile drive from Miami Gardens to join the rally.   “These people didn’t have to be out here,” Fulton said. “That’s what brings me out here.”

The event was scheduled a few weeks ago, before anyone had any idea that the trial would go to the jury that same weekend, said Johnny Macon, one of the organizers. “We are promoting nonviolence,” said Macon, regardless of the outcome of the trial.  “We want everyone to be peaceful.”

 “I hope [that] there won’t be violence,” said Enid Demps of Goulds as walked along US 1 holding a handmade sign that read “JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON.”

At a Miami-Dade Police Department briefing conducted about an hour and a half before the event started, uniformed and plainclothes police officers under a tent as they outlined plans for the event.  Although plans for the imminent verdict were made by MDPD months earlier, no adjustments or additional mobilizations to the regular staffing for the area were announced.   Although a police helicopter buzzed overhead just as the demonstration was beginning and some police officers were seen walking from a mobile command post each holding handfuls of plastic twist ties typically used to cuff people in lieu of traditional handcuffs, the mood in the air was far from hostile.  In fact, some officers even joined in a group prayer led by Alphonso Jackson, Sr, Pastor at Richmond Heights’ Second Baptist Church. 

Fulton was asked by the media about the possibility of violence in response to a not guilty verdict for Zimmerman.   He dismissed such a premise.  “At the onset of this, there was no violence so why would there be any now?”

Macon said that the mindset for all of those participating was what he hoped would echo throughout Miami-Dade County: “be angry but sin not.”

As long-time Miami activist Renita Holmes led a slowly growing number of rally participants in chants in favor of “No justice, no peace!” car horns honked in support of the placards and exhortations for solidarity. 

Macon said that there would be “no need for a demonstration with a guilty verdict” for Zimmerman.  He added if there was no verdict announced today, any future demonstrations would be held at nearby Goulds Park, just a mile or two away, in keeping with existing plans set up by Miami-Dade County.

For those present, the death of Martin and the attention paid to the trial “absolutely” could bring about positive changes in the community, said Fulton.   “We’re trying to stand our ground,” said Macon. “We want everyone to be fair.”

"County Gets Set for Trayvon Verdict"

"County Gets Set for Trayvon Verdict"
story & fotos by José Pérez

MIAMI – With the murder trial for George Zimmerman, accused of killing Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford in 2012, due to begin in just over two months in Seminole County, officials in Miami-Dade County are preparing for possible trouble in the event that a not-guilty verdict is handed down.

As part of the preparation, the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB) and Miami-Dade Youth Commission hosted a youth summit March 28 to “promote non-violence.”  

Held in the chambers of the Miami-Dade Commission in the Stephen P. Clark Government Center in downtown Miami, the meeting’s goal was “taking action to empower and protect our youth and our community in response to the Trayvon Martin court case.”  

The organizers scree-ned news footage of the 1980 upheaval that greeted the not-guilty verdicts handed down in a Tampa courtroom against four county police officers accused of manslaughter and evidence tampering following the beating death of Arthur McDuffie.

“We don’t need Miami rioting regardless of the outcome of this trial,” said the Rev. Dr. Walter Richardson, chairman of the CRB. He co-chaired the meeting with Jude Bruno, chairman of the Youth Commission.

Attorney Ed Shohat, a panelist along with Richardson and Bruno and other members of the Youth Commission, discussed judicial proceedings in a criminal trial. He said the primary focus of the criminal justice system is protection of law-abiding citizens.

“We’d rather have the guilty go free than the innocent go to prison,” Shohat said.

County Commissioner Xavier Saurez said rumor control is paramount and he encouraged the community to “get accurate facts” about the trial, set to begin on June 10, and its outcome.

Suarez, a former mayor of Miami, acknowledged that “there’s always a level of community unrest and dissatisfaction” but added that many of the causes, such as high youth unemployment among African Americans, can be addressed through Miami-Dade’s financial resources which include a $6.2 billion annual capital operating budget.

Delma Noel-Pratt, chief of the Miami-Dade Police Department’s North Operations Division, said her department’s action plan includes an “Incident Management Team.”

The Miami-Dade Police Department has been communicating with counterparts in Seminole County, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, she said.  The “interdepartmental exchange of information” has included discussions about strategies and tactics and has led to officials in Seminole County creating their own Community Relations Board.

The county police action plan has involved training sessions and identifying “areas of concern” or potential areas of protest, Noel-Pratt said.  

The department, she said, is most concerned about both North Miami-Dade and South Miami-Dade but, she added, “we can’t really narrow down or identify one particular place so the Plan of Action is for both ends of the county.”  

That means, she said, that there will be command posts in both the northern and southern ends of the county, with a “visible” presence of uniformed officers, as well as an unspecified number of “undercover officers.”

Noel-Pratt said the main purpose for and guiding principle of her department’s planning related to the Zimmerman trial “is to have peace.”

“We’re hoping that, no matter the verdict, there will be peace,” she said.

Nannette Badger, a Miami-Dade County Public Schools officer, said her agency’s planning includes the fact that schools will be on vacation when the trial starts June 10 so no student demonstrations are anticipated.  

Lina Rojas of the Youth Commission had a plea to law enforcement agencies as they plan for the aftermath of the trial and call for peace.   “We ask that the police lead by example,” Rojas said, adding that many times the line between peace and heavy-handedness “gets blurred.”  

Noel-Pratt responded by emphasizing that the Miami-Dade Police Department’s action plan puts priority on “interpersonal skills.”

Shohat said the summit’s purpose was to promote nonviolence, “not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”  

 To achieve that, Richardson said, it is vital that the community “help us get the word out (about)an action plan that will inform.”

Appeals Hearing for Beckmann Demotion Set

Appeals Hearing for Beckmann Demotion Set

by José Pérez

The hearing to review the demotion earlier this year of Miami-Dade County fire fighter Brian Beckmann for derisive comments he posted online earlier this year has been set for January, an official with the County Attorney’s Office informed the Miami Times.    

William Candela said that Beckmann’s appeals hearing to reverse his May 14, 2012 demotion from Captain to fire fighter as a result of a rant he posted on his personal Facebook page in which he disparaged the judge in the Trayvon Martin murder case as well as African-Americans in general  will be on January 14, 2013.    “That date has been set in stone,” said Candela who will argue on behalf of Miami-Dade County to uphold that disciplinary action.

The January hearing, which will be open to the public, is the latest episode in a continuing story that started last spring when Beckmann’s comments were originally posted online.  Although the comments were removed and the facebook account was soon removed altogether shortly thereafter, the image of the page posting was already captured and was published by Joy Reid of The Grio Report igniting a firestorm for the Department and County. 

For retired county employee and local activist William Clark, who along with others pushed for Beckmann’s termination, there is still work to be done specifically to be called as witnesses for the County to testify against Beckmann.   Clark said that he believes that “victims are going to be absent. “  He said that he and others in Dade County’s Black community “are the victims of [Beckmann’s] remarks” because fire fighters are “first responders who go straight to the homes of the people.”  Hence for him and others who question Beckmann’s commitment to protect, safety in the hands of someone like the embattled fire fighter is a concern.   “I don’t want to take a chance with this guy saving me,” said Clark of Beckmann.

Simply put, said Clark, “we want the county attorney to subpoena the victims.”

When asked about who will be called as witness, Candela said, “I am going to make the determination.  I have not made it yet.”  Candela said that such hearings are “really common” in a workforce that has “27,000 county employees.”  These hearings involve a union lawyer, a county attorney to argue opposing sides of the case, an independent arbitrator to hear the case, and witnesses called by each side.

Adding to the intrigue in the case, the Miami Herald published redacted copies of Miami-Dade County documentation relating to the case [please see below].   For example, in a county memorandum titled “Findings of Fact Report” sent by Dave Downey, Assistant Chief of Operations to Chief William Bryson on May 11, 2012, Beckmann denied that he wrote the statements that set off the controversy. 

*To read the print version of this article, please click here.