Students and TCU NAACP members will come together on Monday as “Walking Colors” to advocate justice and bring awareness to the current civil rights struggle, in response to the recent shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
The silent march named “Walking Colors” will begin at 7:15 p.m. in front of Mary Couts-Burnett Library and end at Frog Fountain, TeJay Johnson, President of TCU NAACP, said.
The event will include a candlelight vigil, a moment of silence and prayer in remembrance of Martin, Gabrielle McBay, Vice President of TCU NAACP, said.
George Zimmerman, the crime watch volunteer who confronted the unarmed black teenager because he thought he looked "suspicious," told police he killed Martin, 17, in self-defense.
Protests have been held across the country at various universities including University of South Florida, Carnegie Melon University, Mary Baldwin College, Florida A&M and Western Michigan University.
Johnson expects 250 people to attend the march Monday night, including the organizations Phi Beta Sigma and Black Student Association. A similar amount attended the Trayvon Martin rally held at University of Texas at Arlington last week.
TCU NAACP members attended the rally at UTA in support by wearing their NAACP shirts while others in the march wore hoodies, the article of clothing Martin was wearing the night he was killed, McBay said.
The focus on Martin’s hoodie has brought focus to the bigger issues such as justice and black stereotypes.
“Just because he wears a hoodie doesn’t mean he is a thug,” Zoe Hampton, historian and member development chair of TCU NAACP, said.
The case has sparked national anger and protests. President Barack Obama weighed in earlier this month, calling the shooting a tragedy and saying, "When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids."
Political activists asked the crowd at UTA to not give up the fight for justice after the uproar from the Martin case subsides .
Students of various local universities, faculty, staff, and residents of Arlington chanted phrases including “Justice for Trayvon” and “Arrest Zimmerman” at the UTA march, according to NBC Dallas/Fort Worth.
TCU students questioned McBay about posters she held at the march when she returned to campus, as they did not know who Trayvon Martin was, she said.
“We would like all of the campus, whether they have heard about the case or not, to come out,” McBay said. “Not just a certain race, but anyone who is an advocate for justice for all.”