Bells at the First Christian Church rang with a cacophony of cheers and horn honks for the large throng of student and community members who rallied through downtown Eugene Thursday night.
The event was a protest against the decision in the George Zimmerman case, wherein he was “unjustly acquitted” of second degree murder and manslaughter of Trayvon Martin.
“The point is solidarity, and to bring attention to this issue,” said Olivia Manwarren, one of the organizers of the event and a co-director of the Black Student Union.
“This is our way of bringing awareness (of the Trayvon Martin case) to the Eugene community. Even though we’re all the way across the country, we are one community,” Manwarren said.
The event swelled to around 100 people over the course of the march from the UO campus to Wayne Morse Free Speech area outside the courthouse in downtown Eugene. Support for the cause came from inside and outside the throng, with onlookers throwing supporting cheers and honks in abundance.
Melanie Griffin, a graduate who just finished her last class at UO Thursday, heard about the rally in her Anthropology class. She felt that the event was good for people’s morale and will help make people more aware.
At the free speech area, Eric Richardson, president of the Eugene/Springfield chapter of the NAACP, gave a speech just after arriving in Eugene from the NAACP Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla.
“Trayvon is all of us, and we are all under attack,” Richardson said. He targeted the importance of the rally as showcasing the unity of the Eugene community. “In Eugene we have a proud tradition of diversity. We have to understand that what we have here is something we can export to the rest of the country,” he said.
Some joined the crowd off the street, but social media seemed to draw the initial gathering. Kaseja Wilder, a local graduate student attending Portland State with a distance option in Eugene, heard about the event from a friend on Facebook.
“Racism is a real problem in this country and any chance for people to show up to an event and make a difference is important,” Wilder said. “I would guess that some white people (in the crowd) feel that we have come along way but the reality is that we still have so far to go.”
Much of the event was driven by signs touting “The whole system’s guilty” and “this is a Tray-vesty” slogans, while others shouted “Rise up fight back,” throughout the march across the city.
Paul Shang, UO dean of students, decided to attend the event after receiving an email from the Black Student Union. According to Shang, the outcome of the Zimmerman case is an injustice and people are upset for many different reasons.
“I think it’s really important to be of assistance, making sure everyone is safe and making sure the students’ message is delivered effectively,” Shang said.
This being his first time volunteering for a rally, Tru Mallon, a sophomore, had no idea what to expect in terms of a turnout, but was happy to see the amount of people who showed up. Mallon helped hand out a chant script before the event, and candles after the rally arrived at it’s destination outside the courthouse.
According to Richardson, 1.5 million signatures have been collected for the #JusticeForTrayvon petition and an event is scheduled in Washington D.C. on Aug. 24, which is only days before the 50th year anniversary of the Walk on Washington rally.