Voices for Trayvon Martin

Voices for Trayvon Martin

Standing up against the institutionalized racial discrimination that made the Zimmerman verdict possible.

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The intensity of the July heat in New York City’s Union Square only heightened the passion of the speakers at the Justice for Trayvon People’s Mic on Sunday, July 14—just one day after George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

At the gathering, which demonstrators stressed was as much “teach-in” to plan positive steps forward as an outpouring of anger and grief, elected officials, representatives of grassroots organizations and people from all over New York and out-of-state decried the institutionalized racial discrimination that made the Zimmerman verdict possible.

—Prashanth Kamalakanthan

How can the name Trayvon Martin turn from a lament to a rallying cry?

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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