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News Report: Black Preachers Calling For Wide Protests To Press For Zimmerman Charges

George Zimmerman

Credit: Reuters

Black preachers said on Tuesday they were planning peaceful protests in 100 cities across the United States this weekend to press for federal charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Standing outside the U.S. Justice Department building in Washington, the preachers pledged to hold the protests near federal buildings and said action was justified because of what they see as the civil rights questions surrounding the death.

A Florida jury on Saturday found George Zimmerman, 29, not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2012 shooting. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, said he shot the unarmed Martin, a black youth, in self-defense.

"People all over the country will gather to show that we are not having a two- or three-day anger fit," said Al Sharpton, a preacher, television host and civil rights advocate joined by about 15 other clergy.

Sharpton said demonstrations were planned for Saturday in 100 cities to push for new charges against Zimmerman and the repeal of Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law.

"We don't need consolation. We need legislation, and we need some federal prosecution," Sharpton said.

The Justice Department, which has offices in every major U.S. city, said Martin's death remains under investigation.

Any charges against Zimmerman would likely fall under a 2009 law against hate crimes, but lawyers with civil rights expertise said a new prosecution was unlikely because of the lack of evidence that racism drove Zimmerman to shoot.

A juror in Zimmerman's trial told CNN she did not think Zimmerman racially profiled Martin. "All of us thought race did not play a role," said the juror, granted anonymity by the television news network.

Legal Questions:

Protesters at demonstrations following the verdict have accused Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, of racially profiling Martin.

Sharpton said he was aware of the legal questions, but he said Zimmerman had a pattern of profiling black men as criminal suspects. He also quoted Zimmerman's lament of "they always get away" to a police dispatcher upon seeing Martin.

"Who is they? And get away with what, since all he (Martin) was doing was going home?" Sharpton said.

Zimmerman's defense lawyers have said their client was viciously attacked by Martin.

Attorney General Eric Holder was scheduled to address the NAACP civil rights organization at 4:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) in Orlando, Florida, 25 miles (40 km) from the small city of Sanford where the trial took place.

The first black attorney general, Holder said on Monday that Martin's death was tragic and unnecessary but he did not forecast the likelihood of new charges.

The black preachers said they considered Martin's death a spark for a renewal of the U.S. civil rights movement by a generation that grew up after the desegregation struggles of the 1950s and 1960s. "There is going to be an intellectual riot," said Jamal Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple church in Baltimore, Maryland. "One hundred cities are going to feel the wrath of a guided, intellectual, meaningful, spiritual uprising."

U-Report: “I See Widespread Revolution” – T.B Joshua

TB Joshua

Report By Femi Fayini

Nigeria-based tele-evangelist Pastor T.B. Joshua of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations on Sunday carried on with his message for job creation with a call to include the youth in decision-making positions or risk mass unrest.

The pastor, speaking during a live service broadcast on his Emmanuel TV, said:

“I am seeing a revolution. I am seeing people take to the street. At the beginning of that protest, it might be stopped. Eventually, it will become so big that it cannot be stopped.”

In the message entitled ‘Carry Your Youth Along’ the prophet, however, said there was a way out and cited job creation for the youth and the creation of a new social value system.

This, he said, was because 90 percent of the youth have come to believe that it was by becoming political thugs that they could be successful, especially because those in the political offices do not want to retire and become statesmen.

He also said the youth should be considered for inclusion in all sectors of the economy as they seem to be more educated than their elders because they are exposed to modern technology.

“The youth, no matter the education they have, feel they have no place in politics and there is no job to keep them busy. There must be new orientation,” said T.B Joshua who has in recent weeks taken job creation as a pilot project of his ministry.

In an indirect chastisement of political leaders who cling to power, the Lagos-based cleric said it was time the youth were considered for important positions such as assistants to the elders.

Said he: “While the elders are ministers, the youth could be junior ministers. This little example of being junior ministers can change the situation of things. Tell your presidents - in every department of government or politics, the youth should be junior assistants to the heads of such departments.”

By doing this, he said, the youth would be groomed to take over tomorrow because they are leaders of tomorrow. 

“This is a message to the whole world. This is because revolution is a weapon of change that is coming. This is the vision I saw. Revolution is coming when people will take to the street because life has no value anymore to the people out there.

“Any nation that will start it now, will avert the coming revolution. Carry your youth along in your politics and administration especially in ruling your country. I have said it; none of these will go without being fulfilled,” said the pastor who lamented that his messages right from the beginning of his ministry were never believed until they came to pass.

Among some of his predictions that came true were the revolution in Egypt, death of former Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika and recently, the derailing of the train in a french-speaking country, just to name a few.

According to the prophet, if the youth are carried along, whenever there is a revolt or situation they will be available to readily speak to their colleagues and peace will be maintained.

“The youth want to see themselves represented in every area of life,” he said.

The pastor who has often been accused of being a prophet of doom for his hard-to-swallow predictions, was quick to warn his world viewers, saying he only speaks what God tells him.

“Those who cry peace to us, prophesy nothing but smooth things. Those who cry peace to you, victory be to you, all is well, unlimited favour, prophesy nothing but smooth things. As surely as God lives, I [T.B. Joshua] will tell you only what God says. If I am hated, persecuted and intimidated because of my accurate prophetic utterances - Blessed be to God who gives the prophecy!”

 (Fayini is a freelance journalist)