Trayvon Martin Supporters Want You to Boycott Florida Oranges

Many are upset over Saturday night’s not guilty verdict in the controversial case of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in February 2012. But will their furor trickle down to the breakfast table?

Efforts are being made by Trayvon Martin supporters for an all-out boycott of Florida oranges and products derived from them. On Sunday, at a rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park that drew at least several hundred protesters, the call was clear: Don’t eat Florida oranges, and don’t drink Florida orange juice. Similar messages have been going out around the country via social media and online petitions.

This is not the first time that Florida oranges have been the subject of a boycott. As far back as 1977, there was a national boycott of Florida oranges due to anti-gay statements made by singer, former Miss Oklahoma and Florida oranges celebrity spokesperson Anita Bryant. In addition to the boycott, gay activists threw a pie in her face.

In 1994, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Organization for Women both led a boycott of Florida oranges after the Florida Citrus Commission paid radio host Rush Limbaugh $1 million to shill for them. The National Education Association also joined in on that fight.

And more recently, in 2011, openly gay GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger called for a Florida oranges boycott when the state announced it would move its Primary election back by two months.

A Florida Citrus Commission spokesperson could not be reached for comment about this latest boycott.

Some of the Florida oranges boycotters are also calling for a boycott of Orlando theme park Disney World, noting that California’s Disneyland would be an acceptable alternative. After all, California is without its racial controversies.

[PHOTO: Mannwell Glenn]