Chaka Khan: ‘I'm boycotting Florida for Trayvon’

CHAKA KHAN has announced she will no longer perform in Florida following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The 10-time Grammy award-winning singer revealed that she had already cancelled a booking in Florida just days after a jury ruled that the self-styled neighbourhood watchman was not guilty of the teen's murder.

She told BlackVoices that the trial was a “travesty,” and an indication that racism is “very much alive and well” in America.

Khan is not the first high-profile entertainer to express opposition to performing in Florida and its controversial 'Stand Your Ground' law, which gives individuals the right to use reasonable force to defend themselves without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation.

Earlier this month, Stevie Wonder told an audience in Canada that he too would boycott the state until it 'abolished' the controversial law.

He said: “I decided today that until the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again. As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world.”

A hooded Trayvon was fatally shot by Zimmerman as he walked to his father's fiancéé's house in Sanford, Florida on February 26 last year. Zimmerman claims he acted in self-defence.

Last March, Khan joined other celebrities and entertainers in a musical tribute to Trayvon Martin. The song, entitled, Super Life, included vocals from other R&B singers such as Eric Benet, Kelly Price and Luke James.