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Echoing national outcry surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin, more than 1, 000 Austinites of distinct races and creeds marched down Congress Avenue to protest what they described as continuing institutional racism Tuesday evening. Beginning at 5 p.m, painters and Austinites began to congregate before the Texas Capitol gates to rally against the Feb.

26 killing. As the crowd began to grow bigger to add local politicians and UT groups including the Black Student Alliance and University Democrats, the originally silent protesters began to wave their signs and gather into a group to sing "We Shall Overcome." A 17-year-old African-American, Trayvon Martin was captured and murdered in Sanford, Fla., while walking through a gated community to his father's fiance's home, supposedly by a local watch volunteer, George Zimmerman.

Following the example of other rallies across the nation calling for Zimmerman's arrest and consciousness about racial tensions in the USA, Tuesday's rally was created to raise consciousness about institutional racism and senseless suspicion, stated secretary James Nortey. Nortey created the Facebook team for the event, along with former Texas House member Glen Maxey along with three others. Although Martin was faked, Zimmerman described Martin as suspicious and claimed the killing was in self-defense. Because of Florida's "Stand your ground" self-defense law, Zimmerman was not taken into custody along with nationwide clamor for his arrest convictions following tensions climbed online through Facebook and Twitter.

Zimmerman has not yet been charged with a crime, although state and federal investigations are still ongoing. According to a pamphlet from the Austin Center for Justice and Peace distributed at the rally, there have been 11 killings of unarmed African-Americans and Hipsanics at Austin since 1980. The latest is the shooting of Byron Carter last year by the Austin Police Department, following the on-duty officer claimed his partner's life was in danger. Following the lead of some bunch of rally members along with Chas Moore, a former UT student and participant at the rally, a great number of the protestors began to march down Congress Avenue to City Hall, chanting "No justice, no peace, no racist police." "It's not merely a black, white thing anymore.

It's minorities fighting against the judicial and economic system. How long are you going to sit here and take this injustice?" . More than a hundred members of the UT BSA were present at the rally and march, stated BSA secretary Reva Davis. "We are here to encourage Trayvon Martin and his loved ones," Davis stated. "This really is confirmation to what we want, but this is inadequate whatsoever. This is merely the start of a thing that we expect will grow bigger." Other marchers contained UT and Austinite alumnus Rudy Malveaux, who stated that the killing of an African American teenager in 2012 is absurd.

"We have gotten desensitized toward violence from black males to the stage where boys can be killed for absolutely nothing," Malveaux said. "The people in this crowd aren't just black, they're Americans. This is American family, and we can't kill the kids in the family." Many protesters also maintained copies of the Daily Texan after assistant English professor Snehal Shingavi distributed them to the rally. Shingavi stated an editorial cartoon printed in Tuesday's Daily Texan was racist and inappropriate, also asked for protesters to encourage a petition to "Censure Stephanie Eisner," the cartoonist who drew the illustration in question, and "Open The Daily Texan to staff and students to carry discussions about imitating racism." BSA member Ken Nwankwo stated several African-American students at UT and members of the rally were frustrated by the cartoon, which portrays a mother reading to her own child a statement about an "White man killing an innocent, very handsome coloured boy." "Certainly the cartoon is satire at the very wrong stage, but it had to come out today on the rally for Trayvon Martin?" Nwankwo stated. Ending their march in the town hall, protesters listened carefully to the speakers messages. Printed on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 as: Protesters rally against racism.

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