{"id":669,"date":"2012-04-02T13:15:16","date_gmt":"2012-04-02T17:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=669"},"modified":"2012-04-02T13:15:16","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T17:15:16","slug":"rally-supports-slain-teen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=669","title":{"rendered":"Rally supports slain teen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coatesville comes out to support Travon Martin<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Jamie Richard<\/strong>, Staff Writer, CoatesvilleTimes.com<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Coatesville City Council Vice President Joseph Hamrick addresses crowd alongside council member C. Arvilla Hunt and the Rev. Floyd Narcisse.<\/p><\/div>\n

COATESVILLE \u2013 \u201cEqual protection under the law.\u201d That was the motto for Saturday\u2019s rally in Coatesville held in honor of slain Fla. teen Trayvon Martin.\u00a0 Martin, 17, was shot and killed on Feb. 26 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.\u00a0 Zimmerman claims to have shot Martin in self-defense, the circumstances of which have caused nationwide debate and controversy.<\/p>\n

The rally began at 10 a.m. on the corner of 1st Ave. and E. Lincoln Hwy. \u00a0The rally was organized by the Rev. Floyd Narcisse, senior minister at Bethel AME Church, and the Rev. Rashad Grove, associate minister at New Life in Christ Church.\u00a0 According to Narcisse, the rally was about raising community awareness and encouraging people to protest against social injustice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about a recognition of systemic evil.\u00a0 There is wickedness in high places,\u201d said Narcisse.<\/p>\n

Community members arrived wearing hoodies and carrying iced tea and Skittles in honor of Martin; several carried posters and signs while others passed out nametag stickers with Martin\u2019s name on them.\u00a0 The rally featured several guest speakers as well as poetry readings from Scott Middle School students.<\/p>\n

Guest speaker Eugenia Roberts, principal at the Coatesville Area School District Alternative Education Program, delivered a speech in which she encouraged the audience to remain positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cUse this tragedy as a reason to keep hope alive,\u201d said Roberts.\u00a0 \u201cYou can be the change agent because you have the power.\u201d<\/p>\n

School board member Dr. Tanya Thames Taylor helped manage the rally, providing updates on the events in Fla. and reaffirming the rally\u2019s intent between speakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are assembling because we are rallying for our rights\u2026we have a duty, right and obligation to rally,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n

Several members of the city council also attended the rally to show their support and offer their insights to the audience.\u00a0 Vice President Joseph Hamrick read off prepared remarks in which he warned residents to speak out against injustice, lest a similar event occur in Coatesville.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the time to speak up\u2026if it could happen in Florida, it could happen in Coatesville,\u201d said Hamrick.<\/p>\n

Council member Jarrell Brazzle directed his comments to the youth and students in attendance, encouraging them to take an active role in their community.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let anyone tell you that you can\u2019t do something\u2026you can anything you put your mind to,\u201d said Brazzle.\u00a0 \u201cNothing will change without your voice; you have the power.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coatesville comes out to support Travon Martin By Jamie Richard, Staff Writer, CoatesvilleTimes.com COATESVILLE \u2013 \u201cEqual protection under the law.\u201d That was the motto for Saturday\u2019s rally in Coatesville held in honor of slain Fla. teen Trayvon Martin.\u00a0 Martin, 17, was shot and killed on Feb. 26 by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.\u00a0 Zimmerman claims […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[24,198,197,191],"class_list":["post-669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-coatesville","tag-hoodies","tag-rally","tag-trayvon-martin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}