Metro

Hoodies worn to Manhattan church in protest of Trayvon Martin slaying

Worshippers in Manhattan donned hooded sweat shirts this morning in solidarity with the grieving family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teen blown away by a wannabe Florida cop.

Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village was filled to capacity with almost everyone in the racially mixed audience wearing hoodies.

“We are all in hoodies today to say, `I’m not dangerous, racism is,’ ” said minister Jacqui Lewis. “Every Sunday, I’m going to wear my hoodie until justice is done.”

Martin was killed Feb. 26 on the streets of a gated community in Sanford, Fla., by volunteer neighborhood-watch captain George Zimmerman.

Cops have refused to arrest Zimmerman, buying the self-appointed watchman’s story that he was acting in self-defense.

Zimmerman had called 911 moments earlier from his car, saying he was following the “suspicious” Martin. The dispatcher told Zimmerman to back off, but he still followed Martin, leading to the deadly confrontation.

Civil-right leaders have demanded Zimmerman’s arrest. State and federal prosecutors have said they’re looking into the case.

In her sermon today, Lewis said she hoped some good could come out of this sad story: “Sometimes, our hearts need to be broken so God can enter it. I think that’s what is going on today. I think our hearts are finally broken, finally fed up with race-related hatred and fear.”

Upper West Side resident and church deacon Dennis Barton, 60, said Martin’s killing has profoundly moved him.

“[I’m wearing a hoodie] in a show of solidarity with parents and the people of Sanford,” Barton said.

“This tragedy has affected me greatly. I’m a black man, and I walk down the street with a hoodie, and I shouldn’t be targeted.”

At Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, the Rev. Charles Adams approached the pulpit with a can of iced tea and package of Skittles — the snacks Martin had on him when he was killed.

“Mr. Zimmerman was so worried about burglars that he became a thief that stole a human life,” Adams preached, according to the Detroit News.

“He was so worried about being killed that he murdered an innocent boy. We want justice.”

Zimmerman has been in hiding since the story became a national, civil-rights issue. A friend of the shooter said Zimmerman cried for days after the deadly incident.

“He couldn’t stop crying. He’s a caring human being,” former TV news reporter Joe Oliver, 53, who has known Zimmerman for several years, told Reuters.

“I mean, he took a man’s life, and he has no idea what to do about it. He’s extremely remorseful about it.”

With Post Wire Services

Worshippers wear hoodies to church in protest of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, killed in Florida by a community-watch volunteer.

Worshippers wear hoodies to church in protest of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, killed in Florida by a community-watch volunteer. (Helayne Seidman)