For everyone who has condemned the numerous protests , rallies and vigils demanding justice for Trayvon Benjamin Martin , the 17-year-old gunned down in Sanford , Florida , a month ago , please listen to these two words : Shut up ! Of course that may seem harsh , but that is exactly how I feel . I do n't want to hear the nonsense to let the system run its course . Others say , `` Let 's not do anything until all of the facts are in . '' Let 's cut to the chase : There would be no special prosecutor had thousands across the national not mobilized , organized and took to the streets to demand justice for Trayvon . Would a grand jury be convened on April 10 ? Not a chance . Would the 911 tapes be released showing admitted trigger man George Zimmerman calling Trayvon suspicious , and owning up to following him ? No . Would the Florida Legislature be reviewing -- and discussing changing or abandoning -- the controversial `` Stand Your Ground '' law , which is at the heart of this case ? No . Would the Department of Justice have launched an investigation into the case , as well as the Sanford Police Department ? Nope . Would Sanford 's police chief , Bill Lee , have stepped down if the inept investigation had n't been exposed ? No . Instead of critics condemning the protests , they should be saying , `` Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! '' Whether folks want to admit it or not , this has always been the story of African-Americans . Go through history and you will find many examples of cases not being investigated or , if they were brought to trial , prosecuted or judged atrociously : Scottsboro Boys . Clarence Brandley . Lenell Geter . Medgar Evers . The Sixteeenth Street Baptist Church bombing . Justice is supposed to be blind , but for African-Americans , it has commonly been deaf , dumb and blind . As a result , we 've had to live by the admonition of former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass , who said , `` Agitate ! Agitate ! Agitate ! '' It was also Douglass who stated , `` Power concedes nothing without a demand . '' The main demand in the Trayvon Martin case from Day One was for Zimmerman to be arrested and for justice to be served . This was n't about a ridiculous bounty on the head of Zimmerman by the New Black Panther Party . It was n't about the selling of T-shirts . It was n't about who showed up and led a march or why . It was about holding a legal system accountable that clearly gave more credence to a 28-year-old gunman than the 17-year-old , unarmed man who was gunned down . For all of our talk about law and order in this country , there is a lot that is wrong with our legal system . We all should feel ashamed when someone is freed from death row or life in prison after DNA testing revealed him or her not to be the real killer or rapist . It should pain our heart when the prosecution withholds evidence in a case that could exonerate someone . And all of us , regardless of race or economic status , should scream to high heaven when the police do n't do their job equally for all citizens . We are a nation of laws , and sometimes they work for some and not others . When we 've prayed , cried and pleaded , oftentimes the only thing we have left to do is march . That is a right that is afforded every one of us in the U.S. Constitution , be it the Tea Party , Occupy Wall Street or those demanding justice for Trayvon . No one should be condemned for taking to the streets and letting their voices be heard . They should n't be called race-baiters , rabble-rousers or radicals . We all should call them exactly what they are : true Americans .
Without protests , the Trayvon Martin case would be going nowhere , Roland Martin says . History is rife with examples of injustice against African-Americans , Martin says . Instead of condemning those clamoring for justice , we should thank them , he says .