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Congressman dons a hoodie, gets kicked off House floor

2012-03-28 26 Dailymotion

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />STORY: A national debate over the killing of a black teenager in Florida spilled into the House of Representatives when a Democratic lawmaker put on a "hoodie" - clothing that has become emblematic of those protesting police handling of the Trayvon Martin case.<br/> <br />Representative Bobby Rush, a prominent civil rights activist during the 1960s, was escorted out for violating a rule that prohibits wearing hats on the House floor.<br/> <br />The lawmaker shed his suit coat during a floor speech to reveal a gray hooded sweatshirt, known as a hoodie.<br/> <br />Rush then placed the hood on his head, a violation of House rules. Rush wanted to make a point: that hoodies are unfairly seen by some as the clothing of troubled youths.<br/> <br />"Racial profiling has to stop, Mr. Speaker. Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum," said Rush.<br/> <br />Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot dead on Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who claims he was acting in self-defense in shooting the unarmed youth in Sanford, a city near Orlando.<br/> <br />At the time of the killing, Martin was wearing a hoodie.

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