Trayvon Martin v. The State of Florida and The United States As A Whole

First and foremost I want to say, never tell me this is a matter that should be handled by the Martin/Zimmerman families.  This is a situation that we as a nation must talk about, march about, write about, and continue to find a solution for or this will happen again.

Only in American can a dead black man go on trial for his own murder…

 Kendric McDade.

19 years old. College student.  Black male. In March 2012, McDade was shot and killed when officers responded to a report of an armed robbery of a man in Pasadena, Calif. He was later found to be unarmed, with only a cellphone in his pocket. His death has prompted his family to file a lawsuit, in which McDade’s parents argue that he was left on the street for a prolonged period of time without receiving first aid. According to court documents, McDade’s last words were, “Why did they shoot me?” The officers involved were initially placed on paid administrative leave but have since returned to duty.

Timothy Russell.

In December 2012, Russell and his unnamed passenger were killed in Cleveland after police fired 137 rounds into their car after a chase.  Officers claimed they saw a possible weapon but no weapon or shell casings were found in the fleeing vehicle or on the chase route.

Sean Bell.

November 25, 2006. The shooting of Mr. Bell, 23, who did not have a gun, occurred in the early morning as Mr. Bell and two friends were leaving a strip club in Jamaica, Queens, where they had been celebrating. The case drew widespread scrutiny of undercover police tactics. 50 shots were fired in just a matter of seconds leaving Bell dead. Dead the morning of his wedding.

  Trayvon Martin.

 On Saturday July 13, 2013 many in the Black community, and other communities as well, received a wake-up call. If you ask most Black Americans if they were surprised by the “Not Guilty” verdict George Zimmerman received for the shooting of an unarmed 17 year old boy who was just walking through the neighborhood trying to go home – we’d provide you with a resounding NO.  Which is sad, just so so sad.

One thing the verdict did was wake us up as a nation to what is really going on within our minority communities.  It’s allowed us to spark a conversation, educate each other, and put the oh so precious life of the Black male on the forefront.

If you didn’t know it before, we all should know it now – the life of a Black man means nothing in this nation. We live in a nation in which a Black man serves to years for killing dogs.  But a white man gets no jail time for killing a young black boy.  We live in a nation in which a man gets 18 months for shooting himself.  But a white man gets no jail time for killing a young black boy.

The Zimmerman trial, in many ways, was more than a murder trial.  It was centuries of American racism haunting us and post racial fantasies smacking us in the face.  The Zimmerman trial has told us so much. But it confirmed one thing, it’s Open Season on Black males in this nation.

There is so much I want to say here. So much I want to explain to my white friends about this life.  For many I am their eyes into Black America.  These are individuals that I have known for over 20 years. People I love. People that I cherish. People that I consider to be not just friends but family – and thank God for the every morning and every night.  But they don’t understand my life and in many ways never will.  And what they really don’t get is that my life is a complete opposite from say many of my friends and the majority of my family – especially my male friends, family and colleagues.  When I heard that verdict, I didn’t cry. I got mad. I was angry. Why? Because it affirmed what I already knew – the life of a Black man does not mean anything in this great nation we call America.

I’m angry because the prosecution did not do their job. They allowed Trayvon Martin to be put on trial. A seventeen year old, who was just trying to get home. Who was scared and being followed by a man bigger than him. Who had no weapon but was armed with a bottled tea and a pack of Skittles. A boy who’s life ended in the hands of a man.  A man who if he’d just stayed in the damn car we would not even be here.

I’m angry because Trayvon Martin is an example of racial profiling – something that occurs to almost every black male in this nation – and Trayvon Martin is a pure example of what happens when racial profiling goes wrong.

I’m still angry. I’m angry because we live in a nation that still undervalues our Black boys and men.  I’m angry because racism still exists and many are too blind to see it.  I’m angry because after 400+ years, we are not free and never will be.  I’m angry because, as Melissa Harris Perry stated, “I live in a nation that makes me wish away my sons”.

The hysteria that has erupted in our nation during the course of the past few weeks is not just over the death of a young Black American male, because hundreds are tragically killed to near silence every year – 94% of them by other African-American males. Nor is this outrage over a supposed race war with black men as the target – given that in incidents of interracial crime, the latter kill the former far more frequently. It’s the fact that justice was not served nor will it every be served when it comes to situations like this. It’s the fact that as a Black parent, instead of telling our kids to dream, we tell them to wake up, stay alert, and do what ever it takes to not seem suspicious.  It’s the fact that no matter what we as Black Americans accomplish, how well we do in school, our professional position, the size of our house or the type of car we drive – no matter what, in the eyes of some, we’ll just be a NIGGA.

So where do we go from here?  That I do not know. This case raises so many issues regarding race but it also puts the Stand Your Ground law and gun control back in the forefront.  These are two topics that this nation needs to continue to discuss, for discussion leads to action and action leads to situations like this one.  Talk, plan, protest, talk some more, mobilize even more, then create some sort of legislation so this does not occur ever again.