The Rev. Al Sharpton, making the morning talk show rounds Monday, called for a Justice for Trayvon National Day of Action on Saturday.
The MSNBC host, along with his National Action Network, is urging people to march on federal buildings and courthouses in 100 cities nationwide to put pressure on the Department of Justice to charge George Zimmerman with violating Trayvon Martin’s civil rights, BET News reported.
“When they’re telling you today, ’I don’t know if they’re going to get a civil rights trial,’ we will. And we will get a civil trial,” Mr. Sharpton said on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”
“What we’ve watched the last several weeks was not the system correcting itself, it was the people correcting the system. Now we’ve got to finish the job,” he added.
Mr. Zimmerman was found not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a Florida jury on Saturday.
“It’s not over, and we are going to make sure it’s not over. That’s why we’re calling people to … organize in your city. I don’t care if it’s 20 people. We want to show the nation that over 100 cities a week later is still demanding justice. We’re not having a fit, we’re having a movement,” Mr. Sharpton said.
The Justice Department began an investigation into the case months ago but put it on hold until a verdict was reached in the criminal case. The agency announced Sunday that it would resume the investigation for possible civil rights violations, BET News reported.
“The one thing the ’60s taught us is you’ve got to stay on an issue. You can’t just get mad and go home after you’ve expressed [views] one time,” Mr. Sharpton added. “You’ve got to stay on it, and we’re going to stay on this until we get some justice.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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