For more than 20 minutes, hundreds of protestors blocked the southbound lanes of Route 288 Monday night as they voiced opposition to the weekend acquittal of George Zimmerman, the 29-year-old Florida man found not guilty of murdering unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
Houston activist Quanell X kicked off the event at 7 p.m. in the heart of the Third Ward at the Rodney F. Byrd Funeral Home.
"Many called and asked why you would hold a rally at a funeral home," he told a crowd that spanned generations. "Because people like George Zimmerman and the racist jury that set him free wish to see black young men — at the funeral home."
"People like George Zimmerman and the racist jury that set him free wish to see black young men — at the funeral home."
After a letter from U.S. representative Sheila Jackson Lee was read by a member of her staff, Quanell X made the final call: "Let's march brothers and sisters. Let's march to the freeway."
And, as attendees would realize a mile into the protest route, the man meant what he said.
At the Southmore Boulevard overpass, activists made their way down the sloping concrete sides of 288, where they stopped traffic for miles — with the exception of an ambulance.
Framed by an empty freeway and impending storm clouds, X stood stoically beside a casket carried from the funeral home as protestors waved signs and chanted "No Justice, no peace." As the skies opened, the activist climbed atop the coffin and called an end to the march.
