Jared Malsin

Some 200 protesters gathered in Union Square yesterday evening to demand justice for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida in February.

City Council Member Letitia James, of Brooklyn, was among those who participated in the rally. Referring to the hooded sweatshirt worn by the 17-year-old the day he died, she told The Local, “Today, all of us are Trayvon Martin, and today this powerful article of clothing is going to be transformed into an instrument for change, and for justice for this young man.”

The hoodie has become a national symbol following the Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford, Fla., inspiring everything from hooded church services to a tribute song by “Hoodie Guthrie.” On March 21 activists including members of the Occupy movement staged a “Million Hoodie March” that stepped off from Union Square. Read more…