Trayvon Martin SUNRISE: 1995 To SUNSET: 2012 Trayvon Martin Rally @ Union Square (NYC) Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin
(1995-2012)

THE BACKSTORY: Trayvon Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was an African American teenager who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. Martin, who was unarmed, had been walking to his father's girlfriend's house when Zimmerman, acting as an unaffiliated neighborhood watch member, followed him based on alleged suspicious activity. Soon after, he fatally shot Martin during an altercation between the two.

UPDATE (Wednesday, March 21st, 2012)

I was at the Trayvon Martin Rally at 14th Street/Union Square in New york City.

I felt compelled to show up because I am emotionally disturbed and PHUCKING ANGRY as white men (whether in police uniforms or NOT -- in this case) continue to shoot down and KILL Black boys and men -- people who LOOK LIKE ME with impunity and no JUSTICE BEING SERVED!!!

I wonder when we as African folks, the sleeping giant, will wake up and not take this shit anymore. I write this blog entry in anger -- and YES, how can I not be angry within these United States of AmeriKKKa when things like this keep happening over and over...???!!

After the initial coming together and rally at Union Square, we were very successful in taking to the streets and shutting down traffic and overwhelming the police for a while. I was very HAPPY about that because it wasn't going to be business as usual in NYC. Also, I was encouraged to see TONS of YOUNG FOLKS out there. The demographics were mixed across gender and race; there were also folks from pre-teens to folks in their sixties out there as well.





The following pictures are my documentation of the political rally. I choose to render the pictures in a RED split-tone color to represent Trayvon's BLOOD being spilled and well as the blood of all the lost African murdered during the middle passage...

ALWAYS REMEMBER... AND TAKE A STAND ON A WORTHY CAUSE TO ELEVATE HUMANITY...

THE STRUGGLE (UNFORTUNATELY) CONTINUES...

NYC Vigil to Remember SGL Activist David Kato (Thur, Feb. 3rd, 2011) David Kato's New York City Memorial Service (Mon, Feb. 7th, 2011)

On Thursday, February 3rd, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and other concerned organizations will hold a peaceful vigil near the Ugandan Mission to the United Nations in New York City to remember and honor David Kato’s life and his struggle for human rights for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Join us in mourning David and showing the Ugandan government that there must be no more violence and discrimination against LGBT Ugandans.

When: February 3, 2011 4:00 pm
Where: Location to be determined. Vigil will be followed by a procession to Uganda House – 336 E. 45th St.

(New York, February 1, 2011) US religious leaders have a moral responsibility to condemn and combat the murderous spread of homophobic hate in Uganda, said a coalition of thirty-five human rights organizations announcing a vigil in memory of slain Ugandan human rights activist David Kato. The candlelight vigil will be held at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and followed by a silent procession to Uganda House, the Ugandan mission to the United Nations, on February 3 at 4 pm. (Co-sponsors are listed below.)

Kato, a prominent leader of the same gender loving movement in Uganda, was found murdered in his Kampala home on January 26. His photograph had been published in a Ugandan tabloid that called for hanging homosexual people; he had recently led a successful lawsuit forcing the publication to desist. The groups also voiced concern that homophobia may prevent Ugandan authorities from conducting a full and fair investigation of Kato’s murder.

READ MORE...

AND

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Stand In Solidarity with


Sexual Minorities Uganda
&
The Global Justice Institute

Please Join Us For
David Kato's
New York City Memorial Service

Monday, February 7th, 2011 @ 7:00PM
Abyssinian Baptist Church
132 Odell Clark Place
(West 138th Street
between Lenox Avenue & Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd)
Harlem, New York City

GOOGLE MAPS

HISTORIC HARLEM CHURCH TO HOLD SERVICE FOR UGANDAN SGL ADVOCATE

As same gender loving and transgender Ugandans and same-gender-loving faith leaders in the United States mourn the death of SGL leader David Kato, the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City is opening its doors to host a memorial service for Mr. Kato. The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III one of the leading African American ministers in the United States will preside over the service in a congregation known as the “cradle of the Black Church.”

Info: http://gaybygod.net/david-kato/


WHO: The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor Abyssinian Baptist Church

Pastor Joseph W. Tolton, pastor of Rehoboth Christ Consciousness

Pastor Michael Walrond Jr., pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church

Bishop Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of The Fellowship

Frank Mugisha, president of Sexual Minorities Uganda

Charles Radcliffe, Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights


WHAT: Memorial Service and call for solidarity in remembrance of slain Ugandan SGL rights advocate, David Kato.

WHEN: Monday February 7, 2011. 7pm

WHERE: Abyssinian Baptist Church 132 Odell Clark Place, NY, NY (W 138th St)

For Directions: http://www.abyssinian.org/contact/contact/

WHY: On Wednesday January 26, 2011 David Kato, a Ugandan SGL rights advocate, was beaten to death in his home. His death comes just months after his name, picture and home address were published by the Ugandan newspaper, Rolling Stone, where Kato and 99 others were pictured in an article calling for their execution. Uganda came under scrutiny last year as its parliament proposed the death penalty for homosexual people. Many believe American Evangelicals who visited Uganda in 2009 helped create the bill and fomented a climate of fear leading to violence.


The memorial, will remember Kato's work, celebrate his life, and mourn his death while challenging lawmakers, foreign and domestic governments and citizens of this world to respond with action against anti-homosexual movements stoked by religion.

Geoffrey A. Davis Presents Murder At City Hall, Councilman James E. Davis Story - A Mini Documentary

Geoffrey A. Davis Presents
Murder at City Hall, Councilman James E. Davis Story
April 5th, 2010 @ 7PM
BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) Rose Cinemas
30 Lafayette Avenue
(between Ashland Place & St. Felix Street)
Brooklyn, New York 11243


On July 23, 2003, New York City peace activist and councilman James E. Davis was assassinated at City Hall. Learn more about Davis’ work and legacy in this mini-documentary followed by Q&A and post-screening reception. Call 718.221.2911 to RSVP.

Despite the Country's Progressive Laws, Homosexuals Are Still Under Attack In South Africa (CNN Report)

SCARRED JUSTICE:The Orangeburg Massacre of 1968Screening at The Gatehouse (Aaron Davis Hall)Friday, October 16th, 2009 @ 7:30PM (NYC)

SCARRED JUSTICE: The Orangeburg Massacre of 1968
Post-screening CONVERSATION w/filmmaker Judy Richardson
Friday • October 16th, 2009 • 7:30 pm • The Gatehouse

Harlem Stage Tickets 212.281.9240 Ext. 19 or 20

Harlem Stage Gatehouse
150 Convent Avenue (at West 135th Street)
New York, NY 10031

Tickets are $5.00

This gut-wrenching documentary film explores the events of February 8, 1968, two nights after students from a predominately Black college attempted to bowl at the city’s only bowling alley, where the owner refused. Tensions rose and violence erupted as gunfire from white police officers left three African-American students dead and 27 wounded on the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, S.C.

Join filmmaker Judy Richardson after the presentation of SCARRED JUSTICE: The Orangeburg Massacre of 1968 for a discussion and reception.

Bestor Cram, director/producer/cinematographer, has dedicated his career to focusing on issues of social justice and history. As the founder of Northern Light Productions, Cram’s films have received numerous festival awards, and his work has been screened at Sundance Film Festival and broadcasted on PBS.

Judy Richardson is a notable documentary filmmaker and Civil Rights activist. She gained her notoriety as the educational director for the critically acclaimed PBS documentary film series “Eyes on the Prize,” which received the Peabody Award as well as several Emmys. Richardson continues to be one of the most influential forces behind documenting and commemorating the African-American experience.

Co-presented with Black Documentary Collective. A presentation of the Harlem Stage Partners Program.

Navy:Murder Charge Filed inBlack Same Gender Loving Seaman's Death

Navy: Murder Charge Filed in SGL Seaman's Death

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/23/august-provost-gay-sailor_n_244063.html
Published: 07/23/09 08:26 PM

August Provost, Murdered Black Same Gender Loving Sailor

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy says a sailor has been charged in military court with murder and other offenses in the shooting death of a gay San Diego seaman.

Petty Officer Jonathan Campos of Lancaster, Calif., was charged Thursday in connection to last month's fatal shooting of Seaman August Provost of Houston.

Provost was shot multiple times as he stood guard at Camp Pendleton on June 30. The 29-year-old's family believes the shooting may have been a hate crime. The family says Provost complained of being harassed about his sexuality in the days before his death.

Navy officials have rejected those claims and say there is no record of Provost filing a harassment report.

They say Campos, a 32-year-old gas system technician, is being held at the brig and is cooperating with investigators.

UPDATE (Wednesday, July 29th, 2009):
This article was sent to me and so I'm doing a follow-up with y'all! Click the title below which is hyperlinked.
Family Says Closeted Gay Sailor Killed Provost
DallasVoice.com - The Premier Media Source for LGBT North Texas


UPDATE (Sunday, August 2nd, 2009):
Suspect in Houston Sailor's Death Commits Suicide

Suspect in Houston sailor's death commits suicide
By CINDY GEORGE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 1, 2009, 6:25PM

The sailor charged in the June death of a Houston seaman at a San Diego military base committed suicide in custody, authorities said.

Petty Officer Jonathan Campos, 32, was found unresponsive Friday afternoon in his brig cot at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Campos was alive when he was checked at 11:45 a.m., but was unresponsive when found about 35 minutes later, a military statement said. The apparent cause of death was self-inflicted asphyxiation. He was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. Friday.

Campos, of Lancaster, Calif., was accused in the shooting death of August Provost III, a sailor from Houston's Acres Homes neighborhood who was gay. Provost, 29, was killed June 30 while on duty in a guard shack at the Southern California military camp.

After the slaying, Provost's remains were set on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence, Navy officials said.
Arrested for DWI

Last week, Campos was charged with 16 criminal offenses, including murder, unlawfully handling a deceased individual by setting the remains on fire, stealing military property and soliciting a San Diego civilian to kill a fellow sailor. He had been in Navy custody since July 1 and faced a hearing in military court, similar to a grand jury, in the coming weeks.

Provost's family has said other sailors had been harassing him before his death, but the Navy has insisted that there is no evidence the slaying was a hate crime.

Provost and Campos were assigned to the same command, which included about 500 military personnel, but officials have said there is no indication that they had a close association.

Campos had been arrested by police in Imperial Beach, Calif., and charged with driving under the influence about 10 days before military officials say he went on a two-day rampage on the base that involved Provost's death.

Campos also faced charges for using illegal psilocybin mushrooms as well as breaking into another service member's home where $5,400 worth of electronics, jewelry and a .45-caliber pistol was stolen, military officials said.

Campos enlisted in the Navy in December 2001. Provost entered the Navy in March 2008, and reported to Camp Pendleton last September.