Recording artists Jay Z and wife Beyonce Knowles joined Al Sharpton and Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton during a Manhattan rally Saturday calling for the civil rights prosecution of George Zimmerman.
Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges July 13 in the shooting death of Martin, claiming he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense.
Jay Z and Beyonce did not speak at the Trayvon rally, but took the stage next to Fulton, the New York Daily News reported.
"I’m not here to do interviews, thank you," the Daily News quoted Jay Z as saying after he and Knowles spent some time with Fulton in lower Manhattan. The couple remained silent after the crowd started shouting "No Florida concerts" to them during the rally, reported the
New York Post.
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The Daily News said Jay Z and Justin Timberlake dedicated the song "Forever Young" to Martin at a Yankee Stadium concert on Friday.
The New York Post reported that more than 1,000 people attended the rally in front of One Police Plaza that was organized by Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem.
"Trayvon is not here to speak for himself," Fulton told the crowd, noted the New York Post. "Trayvon was a child, and sometimes I think that gets lost in the system. Trayvon was no burglar. George Zimmerman started the fight, and George Zimmerman ended the fight."
The Post said many of the protesters at the rally wore hoodies, similar to the one wore by Martin when he died.
The New York rally was one of at least 101 held in cities nationwide in support of Martin, according to the New York Daily News.
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The Daily News said Martin Luther King III spoke at a Martin rally in Atlanta. He broke with cousin Alveda King, who had spoken out against the rallies during a radio program last week, according to Yahoo! News.
The Daily news said Martin's father, Tracy Martin, spoke at a rally in Miami, vowing to fight for children and the victims of senseless gun violence, the New York Post said.
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