BTS: "Hoodie" Rally

Dayton's Courthouse Square stage before the April 1 'hoodie' rally began.

This item is a little hard for me to write because of the subject matter and its polarity within the local community as well as the nation in recent weeks (it continues to be one of America's most divisive 'third rail' issues).  Racism is an unfortunate part of life in this country and in others around the world and the 'hoodie' rally that I covered on April 1 used it as an overt theme to help bring out the area's African-American community to that event.

A/V: Dayton Holds 'Hoodie' Rally for Slain Florida Teen

 A young boy holds a sign demanding racial justice during Dayton, Ohio's 'hoodie' rally Sunday afternoon in support of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

On an unseasonably warm day in early April, a crowd estimated between 200 to 300 people gathered at Dayton's Courthouse Square, many in hooded 'hoodie' sweatshirts and jackets, to show their support for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old Florida youth who was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman inside a gated community he was visiting in late February. The rally was organized by the Reverend Jerome McCorry, president of the Adam Project, Inc., a faith-based non-profit organization chartered to help men face the many issues after their release from prison.  Several other high-profile members of Dayton's African-American community were also on hand to address the crowd and to show their personal support towards their group's shared goals of social harmony and equal justice for all under the law.