Thousands of New Yorkers chanted “we want arrests” as Trayvon Martin’s parents joined them for a protest calling on police to arrest George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed their unarmed 17-year-old son but has yet to be arrested. These are some of the voices of the protesters, many of whom wore hooded sweatshirts and called for an end to racial profiling.

PROTESTERS: Trayvon Martin could have been my son! Trayvon Martin could have been my son! Trayvon Martin could have been my son! Trayvon Martin could have been my son!

JAMIE GATES: Jamie Gates, Brooklyn, New York.

RENÉE FELTZ: Tell me why you’re out here today.

JAMIE GATES: Support a cause. That could have been me. That could have been my son. That could have been my brother. Justice needs to be served. That man should have been arrested.

PROTESTERS: We are Trayvon Martin! We are Trayvon Martin!

RAHEL TEKA: My name is Rahel Teka. I’m from Minneaopolis through Ethiopia. I’m here because the death of Trayvon Martin isn’t specific to his family. It’s not specific to Florida. It’s something that happens every day in this country, and it’s something which is ignored or is given attention for a week and then swept under the rug. So I think, through events like this, we can bring attention not only to Trayvon Martin and not only to the injustices in Florida, but across this country and throughout this world.

PROTESTER: What do we want?

PROTESTERS: Justice!

PROTESTER: When do we want it?

PROTESTERS: Now!

PROTESTER: What do we want?

PROTESTERS: Justice!

PROTESTER: When do we want it?

PROTESTERS: Now!

PROTESTER: What do we want?

PROTESTERS: Justice!

PROTESTER: When do we want it?

PROTESTERS: Now!

GRACE HAMLER: My name is Grace Hamler, and I’m from Harlem.

VICTORIA CHIRAC: My name is Victoria Chirac [phon.], and I’m from the Bronx.

RENÉE FELTZ: And I see this is a family affair for you. Can you tell us who you brought with you and why you’re out here?

GRACE HAMLER: I’m here with my grandchildren. This is my granddaughter. My daughter is over there with my grandson. And we’re here because of Trayvon Martin. It could be my son. It could be my grandson, my nephew. Today it’s a stranger. Tomorrow it’s your son, your grandson, your nephew. We have to be out here. We have to participate. We have to gather up. We have to stand up for this type of violence against black youth.

RENÉE FELTZ: And how about you? What do you think?

VICTORIA CHIRAC: I think that it was just totally unnecessary. Just Skittles and iced tea, and he gets shot for nothing.

ELGIE: My name is Elgie.

RENÉE FELTZ: And how old are you?

ELGIE: Six.

RENÉE FELTZ: And what do you think about what happened to Trayvon Martin?

ELGIE: Well, it’s just hard stuff to believe.

PROTESTERS: Justice! Now!

CANDICE: My name is Candice. I’m 11. And I’m from the Bronx. We feel like the police are racist, because when a black man died for no reason, they didn’t do anything, and they didn’t prosecute the killer.

FATOU WAGIH: My name is Fatou Wagih [phon.]. I’m from Bronx, and I’m 11. We’re here today because this is a national issue, and probably a worldwide one. I’m also wearing a hoodie, because he died with it and because we want to honor him today, which is what this protest is about.

AUNDRUS: My name is Aundrus, and I’m 12 years old. When I heard what happened, I was kind of confused, because at first—at first I thought it was a regular murder, but I wanted to know why it was like so, like, national. I went to Union Square, and I heard that he got—he got shot since he was wearing a hoodie that, like—like he was bad, he was suspicious. So, I think, like, maybe police might look at me suspiciously because of the color of my skin, and I’m wearing a hoodie.

PROTESTERS: We are Trayvon Martin! We are Trayvon Martin! We are Trayvon Martin! We are Trayvon Martin! We are Trayvon Martin!