The killing of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent verdict of not guilty has thrown the nation into turmoil. We, the American public, must learn from this tragic situation and take action to ensure changes in our laws and in the public understanding of our racial views, assumptions and beliefs.
Last year in New York City, police stopped 532,911 citizens under their current policy of stop and frisk. Of those stopped, 9.7% were white and 90.3 were non-white. Only 6% of the stops resulted in arrest. Some Americans see nothing wrong with this situation, but many Americans protest these stops as a violation of those citizen's civil rights. Many see Zimmerman's action on the night he killed Trayvon Martin as racial profiling similar to that occurring in New York City.
Here are several articles that give us food for thought and lessons to learn from the Zimmerman trial and verdict:
On the Killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, Ta-Neshi Coates, The Atlantic Monthly, July 14, 2013
"I think the jury basically got it right."
What the Zimmerman Trial Was About, Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, July 12, 2013 (Updated July 13, 2012)
"The State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman is about many things: what constitutes self defense, the echoing consequences of an increasingly armed public, the enduring and toxic way that race stains the most basic interactions. But most fundamentally, it's about what we've decided to do with our fear."
After the Verdict: The Zimmerman Non-Riots, Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, July 15, 2013
...Newt Gingrich..."(Blacks) ."prepared, basically to be a lynch mob."
a sly inversion...in references to lynch mobs. (Our) country's long history, but not one in which non-black defendants needed to fear the fury of black mobs."
George Zimmerman's actions can seem understandable, even reasonable because we live in an era in which it doesn't take a racist to believe that black males equal danger.
Law and Justice and George Zimmerman, Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic, July 13.2013
"The exoneration of Trayvon Martin's killer is a stark reminder of the limitations of our justice system."
The Zimmerman Jury Told Young Black Men What We Already Knew, Cord Jefferson, Gawker.com,
"It's a complicated thing to be young, Black, and male in America."
"We must always be deferential to white people, or face the real chance of getting killed."
"...you must also remain conscious of the fact that people expect you to be apologetic for their fears."
The Whole System Failed Trayvon Martin, Charles Blow, The New York times, July 15, 2013
"This is not to dispute the jury finding-one can intellectually rationalize the decision-as much as it is to howl at the moon, to yearn for a brighter reality for the politics around dark bodies, to raise a voice and say this is a rallying call, not a death dirge."
There are many other articles of note that give us pause to reflect on the lessons learned from the Zimmerman case. The situation calls for action and the struggle continues.
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