The murder of 17 year old Trayvon Martin in Sanford Florida has brought up the ugly face of racism in America. Yesterday I went to the Million Hoodie demonstration in Union Square.

The day he was killed, Trayvon Martin had been watching the NBA All-Star game at his father’s house and had stepped out to buy a bag of Skittles.

Today, more than 3 weeks later,  the confessed shooter 28 year old George Zimmerman has not been arrested. Zimmerman a ‘neighborhood watch captain’ in the gated community, was following Martin when he called 911 saying: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about. These @!$%#s. They always get away.”

I have been to Sanford Florida it is typical small town America, the Amtrak railroad runs though it. It does not surprise me that racism is present there. The present police chief, Chief Lee,  has been on the job for 10 months. The previous chief was forced out after an outcry over the beating of a black man in downtown Sanford by a white man who is a police officer’s son. The police did not arrest the man, even though the beating was captured on video.

The police apparently could not arrest Zimmerman because of Florida’s controversial 2005 Stand Your Ground law, which allows people to shoot anyone they believe is threatening them.