Associated Press
By Kayla Reeves
Reporter
Baylor’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will host a hoodie walk in honor of Trayvon Martin on Sunday.
Participants will meet at 4 p.m. on the Bear Trail in front of the Baylor Science Building fields.
Martin, a 17-year-old Florida boy, was killed last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer while walking home from a convenience store.
The shooter, George Zimmerman, said Martin looked suspicious, according to a story by the Associated Press.
Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but Martin’s supporters believe it was racially motivated, according to the AP.
In the weeks since the shooting, there have been hoodie walks in remembrance of Martin all over the country, because Martin’s hoodie supposedly contributed to the suspicious image that Zimmerman said he had on the night of his death.
Killeen senior Brittany Walker, president of Baylor’s NAACP, said she invites all students and student organizations to participate in the Baylor NAACP’s walk, but asks that no one bring any signs or protest materials.
“We just ask that you only bring hoodies because we don’t have time to get signs and things approved, but bring yourselves and your hoodies and support this movement with us,” she said.
The walk is about raising awareness and supporting Martin’s family, Ramona Curtis, adviser for Baylor’s NAACP and director for leader development and civic engagement, said.
“We have not yet arrived in a post-racial society,” Curtis said. “It is an opportunity for us to talk about it and try to heal some of the discomfort that individuals may be feeling. We also want to really be in prayer for the community in Florida and the family of Trayvon. We don’t want to lose sight of what’s going on there.”
The walk will cover about half of the Bear Trail and end at the Bill Daniel Student Center, where there will be time for prayer, discussion and spoken word poetry about Martin’s death, Walker said.
An hour prior to the walk, there will be a prayer vigil in Martin’s honor at St. James United Methodist Church, where Curtis will speak. The church is located at 600 S. 2nd Street.
Curtis said she is proud of the NAACP members for organizing this walk and “for really wanting to continue to create ways on our campus to allow diverse groups of students to come together and show their solidarity.”
