Mayor William Euille to Host Community Forum on Trayvon Martin Case

City of Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille will host a community forum from noon-1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Charles Houston Recreation Center located at 901 Wythe Street. The forum is in collaboration with the Alexandria Human Rights Commission and the Alexandria Chapter of the NAACP.

Since Saturday's verdict of not guilty in the George Zimmerman case which has made national news, the African-American community has spoken out — pushing the issues with the justice system and racism back to the forefront. Riots have been reported in multiple cities and celebrities such as Stevie Wonder have been involved in boycotts after the verdict.

Along with information about Saturday's forum, Euille said the following in an issued statement Tuesday:

"While I respect the decision by the jury in the Trayvon Martin case, I am also troubled by the outcome. Like so many Americans, I believe that Trayvon's death was a tragedy, and while we must always have faith in our judicial system, one must question how an innocent child walking in his neighborhood could end up dead at the hands of an armed neighborhood watchman — only for that man to be found not guilty by a paneled jury.

Rather than becoming more frustrated, we must take this time to come together to talk about how we can overcome this decision and look forward to a positive and promising future regarding human and race relations in America. We also need to discuss how we can make this incident a teachable moment, to become more engaged in working with our youth and young adults, and to help make a difference in their lives."

Euille is inviting the public to participate in a panel discussion to reflect on the Martin tragedy and to "heal and unite" after the verdict.