Santa Maria/Lompoc NAACP President Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt released a statement in response to the July 14 acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida Neighborhood Watch member accused of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. “On almost the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Aug. 24, 1963 March on Washington, I am deeply disappointed that in the greatest country in the world, and with our system of justice, we continue to struggle with the 200-year-old question [of whether] race and poverty still matter,” Lyons-Pruitt said. “It is time now for communities across the nation to examine themselves and stop brushing
around the subject of race and poverty, as they obviously matter.” She said the Santa Maria/Lompoc Branch of the NAACP calls on all Americans to “remember that Trayvon Martin was a human being, who was shot and bled … as any other person who is shot does. He had a family who loved him deeply and his life was cut short.”
This article appears in Jul 18-25, 2013.