WHY TRAYVON MATTERS © A jury of his “peers” determined that George Zimmerman was not guilty of the charges levied that he murdered (2nd Degree) a young man of African American descent named Trayvon Martin. Ever since the verdict from the OJ trial, there will most likely not be a verdict that shocks me where the prosecution (the people) are pit against a defendant. I’m not equipped to argue the legal merits of the case, but when I hear the cries of “What’s the big deal with this case?” or statements such as if this was just another case of black on black crime, then it would never have even made it to the evening news. That’s the overarching tragedy to me. Unfortunately, if you’ve never felt the humiliating sting of DWB or in Trayvon’s case, “WWB”, then you are ill-equipped to weigh in on the legitimacy of this case or ask “What’s the big deal?” It’s a VERY big deal to those who are racially profiled for wearing hoodies, but it is equally infuriating to those of us who have experienced the sting of that clutched purse or having a cab refuse to stop in NYC, despite having close cropped hair while wearing a Brooks Brother’s suit. My son, Chase, was recently interrogated by State Troopers on a road trip to Texas with his then fiancée, (now wife), who is Caucasian…he was pulled over and forced to stand outside the vehicle with his hands behind his back…Then as Chase recalls, the trooper had the audacity to ask Amanda, “Are you okay Ma’am?” There are numerous stories I could share pertaining to myself, both of my older boys, friends and family members which depict the harsh reality for African-American and other men of foreign ethnicity & color in America. The reason that my maternal grandparents moved from Arkansas to Ohio in the 1930s was my grandmother’s gripping fear that my grandfather would get lynched because of his refusal to avoid eye contact with “Mr. Charlie.” We demand justice for a professional football player who executed dogs. However, whether it was a guy named Zimmerman, who declared he was the “Neighborhood Watchman”, or the countless nameless perpetrators and victims of senseless capital crimes, to ask, what’s the big deal or to state that this is just another case, says Trayvon’s life really didn’t matter. Since we are truly made in the image of God, then ALL life really does matter! To some, Trayvon didn’t matter, just like the trail of men of African descent (Evers, Till, etc.), or of any descent for that matter, who litter America’s history for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I grieve for the Martin family…I grieve even more for our nation…I grieve for those who will lose their lives yet this weekend…I even grieve for those who are walking around exercising their right to bear arms against a person who just doesn’t look like they belong in a certain place at a certain time. But who I grieve the most for, and what scares me the most, are my three boys, African-American young men, who might get too comfortable one day and decide to adorn a hoodie and turn their music up too loud while eating a bag of Skittles. Dr. King’s words are more poignant than ever, when he stated, “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 04:53:02 +0000
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