Trayvon Martin Case: Fashion Designer Tracy Reese Shares Her Opinion On Teen's Killing

The news of the Trayvon Martin killing has been discussed by just about everyone, from politicians and musicians to actors and athletes. Fashion designer Tracy Reese joined the discussion, weighing in on the shooting of the unarmed Fla. teen that has spiraled into a nationwide controversy.

"The whole thing is just so sad, and the excuses are so lame," Reese told The Huffington Post Black Voices at the launch of her Clos du Bois Chic Picnique Tuesday night in New York City. "Young men of color can't be targets."

Reese opened up about her personal experiences with discrimination as a student at the Parsons School of Fashion, when she would go into different stores and look at their merchandise for class "shopping reports" and wasn't always received well by employees.

"I would notice when I went out, that I was being shadowed sometimes, and it used to irritate me," she said. "But at the end of the day I was in a public place, and it was my right to be there. We should feel free to be wherever we want to be."

Clothing has become a hot topic in the Martin case, since the teen was wearing a hoodie the night of the fatal confrontation. Thousands of people around the country have donned hooded sweatshirts, demonstrating in rallies and posting photos on social networks to show their solidarity.

Television personality Geraldo Rivera provoked outrage when he said Martin was partially responsible for his death because he was wearing a hoodie. However, Reese said the teen's attire shouldn't be blamed for what happened that night.

"White people wear hoodies too," she said. "It's so sad that people want to be in fear of you just because you're a young man of color.

Check out photos from last night's launch of Clos du Bois Chic Picnique by Tracy Reese.

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Comments

[frank zarzar]

03:37 PM on 04/02/2012

This is a tragedy...for sure. This looks like a non-black man shot a black man. Now...why is this any more a tragedy then the white people gunned down at ATM machines, murdered during car jackings or robberies by black men? Why are these instances acceptable to many of the people making noise on these boards. Is it because its commonplace and business as usual? They had it coming because of slavery? What if a prominant white person stood up for a white victim in the national news media.They would be branded a racist......Why?.... It does't matter what race pulled the trigger. Murder is murder.

[VTya]

04:16 PM on 04/02/2012

Because in this case the white Hispanic man has not been arrested or charged.

Also, Zimmerman's comments on the 911 tapes and his comments in previous calls to police prooves his actions were racially motivated.

I've lived in Florida for 7 years. Some of the worse cases of racism in this state (especially with the police) have involved white Hispanics, some of whom seem to think they are superior to people with darker skin.

Maybe it's time for some sensitivity training in the white Hispanic community, they need to be schooled on Civil Rights Laws.

African-Americans fought and died for civil rights, other groups including women and Latinos benefited from the laws that came from the movement, yet Latinos were not involved in the struggle. How ironic that Trayvon was murdered by a half-Latino man.

[Michigan Joe]

03:02 PM on 04/02/2012

When will the media get an actual up to date picture of Trayvon,and replace this 6 year old child's picture with one the shows what he looked liked before his death? It was reported that Trayvon have gold capped teeth and had a mustache and I was wondering if that is true?

[dmk68]

09:08 AM on 03/30/2012

thank god we now know her opinion....the public has been waiting with baited breath

[UserNameJane]

04:22 PM on 04/02/2012

What an ignorant comment.

[asantewa3]

11:19 AM on 03/29/2012

I think it's sad that people are using his style of dress as a pass to be gunned down by a vigilante who should have never been able to carry a gun at all. If the situation were reversed, Trayvon would be in jail right now no questions asked. This case reminds me so much of the Emmitt Till case and it's disturbing because it has been 60 years and we are still wallowing in this type of behavior. When will people learn?

[Mamadea]

04:49 AM on 03/29/2012

1st...... Zimmerman didn't stay in his vehicle as instructed

Disobeyed

2nd.......Zimmerman gets out of vehicle commenced to following Martin and was told to cease following when asked if he's following on foot.

MURDER 1

[Mamadea]

04:39 AM on 03/29/2012

The hoodie is the excuse being used to justify the murder of this teenager.

His black skin is what made him suspicious and racism influenced Zimmermans rogue activity!

[The Gregster]

02:57 AM on 03/29/2012

Quit playing the race card! I'm a 50 yr old man and I have been "shadowed in stores" countless times. I've even had women clutch their purses when I walked by them. As far as the authors comment that "Young men of color can't be targets" - then tell them to quit committing most of the crimes!

[RJrocks1]

03:24 AM on 03/29/2012

Yeah, like going to the store and getting skittitles and Ice tea!!! THE NERVE!

[The Gregster]

04:35 AM on 03/29/2012

That comment doesnt even qualify a response. Try Again!

[RJrocks1]

03:35 AM on 03/29/2012

Curious.....what were YOU wearing when all this "Shadowing" and "Clutching" was going on?

[The Gregster]

04:34 AM on 03/29/2012

I was dressed as anyone else my age would dress while shopping. I am a big guy however, with a goatee and long hair (not unkempt).

[Richcrafter]

02:38 AM on 03/29/2012

I did not wear a hoodie today to be safe. Even an ivy league hoodie. Not worth it!

[Andrew Schmitt]

08:59 AM on 03/29/2012

hey idiot. do you really believe that there's an increased chance that you will be killed because you're wearing a hoodie?

[earthinretrograde]

06:18 PM on 03/29/2012

Yes, after Geraldo's comment, and the "Stand Your Ground", if one guy is black and dead, then it's my word that is a get out of jail free card.

[patriciacaldwell]

05:06 PM on 03/29/2012

Wearing a hoodie is a distraction from the real issue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/opinion/collins-more-guns-fewer-hoodies.html?hp

[luckyduck29]

02:34 AM on 03/29/2012

I don't see why this has to be all about race. I just wonder if he was a different race would everyone be still talking about it? I just wish everyone would stop focusing so much on these kinds of stories. We will never know what truly happened that night. And posting stories about it every 2 seconds won't change that. Let it be and let the poor kid rest in peace already.

[Absolute]

09:56 AM on 03/29/2012

If he were a different race and he was killed while returning to his father's house from the store and the cops allowed his body to sit in the morgue for three days without notifying his parents of his whereabouts then yes, there would be outrage.

It is outrageous that any American teen can be gunned down this way and that people attempt to justify it.

[FreeOJ]

12:16 PM on 03/29/2012

If he was "gunned down" your point would be some what valid. He was shot for being a thug.

[rewith85man]

02:15 AM on 03/29/2012

If Trayvon was white or light-skinned, he probably would still be alive today. He probably would be good friends with Zimmerman too.

[The Gregster]

02:54 AM on 03/29/2012

If Trayvon was white, none of us would have ever heard this story.

[RJrocks1]

03:25 AM on 03/29/2012

Because it never would have happened. Do you get that?

[Mamadea]

04:40 AM on 03/29/2012

Are you really as dense as you portray??

[earthinretrograde]

02:11 AM on 03/29/2012

A hoodie is not a uniform. It is an article of clothing worn by most everybody, worn since 1940 at least. It is not justification for killing anybody, not should it be considered a target. If it is, that makes me a target.

[jeepgram97]

10:42 PM on 03/28/2012

women, men, children of ANY color should not be targets,,,but they are...every day....

[ssullymets]

09:48 PM on 03/28/2012

I guess Tracy is qualified to have a interview about the case (without the
facts) because she is African American. So I'd like to hear 2 Live Crew's
& Grammy winning Naughty By Nature's opinion on the case.

[DanielSC]

11:32 PM on 03/28/2012

Any person that has been a part of the human experience has a right to 'chime in' and be qualified... it is what they say that will either make them credible or incredible. In short, she is as qualified to have an interview as you are to comment on her interview. :-)

[WhatchaTalkinBoutWillis]

11:33 PM on 03/28/2012

"I guess Tracy is qualified to have a interview about the case (without the
facts) because she is African American. So I'd like to hear 2 Live Crew's
& Grammy winning Naughty By Nature's opinion on the case."

Totally disagree. Being African American doesn't 'qualify' her; having functioning synapses does! Your ASSinine attempt to discount Ms. Reese's opinion of the case because of 'identity politics' is foiled by the FACT that the MAJORITY of Americans believe that a grave miscarriage of justice has been performed.

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-03-26/justice/justice_florida-teen-shooting-poll_1_gun-laws-shooting-death-grand-jury?_s=PM:JUSTICE

Sully, suggesting you listen to the 911 tapes would be futile. Suggesting you read Trayon's girlfriend's auditory accounts?.... FUTILE. Suggesting you review the newsclip of Zimmerman's kempt appearance as he entered the police station, an appearance that strongly contradict's HIS version of that day's happenings? FUTILE. Why? Because you really don't care to know the TRUTH, now DO YOU?

Btw, 2 Live Crew is sooooooo 1980s....I'd rather hear the opinion of my hoodie-wearing friend, Eminem!

[ssullymets]

12:10 AM on 03/29/2012

Arnold check with your older brother Willis, it sounds like you need
a little guidance.

[The Gregster]

03:01 AM on 03/29/2012

So what is he supposed to stagger into the police station on crutches because he has a cut on the back of his head and a broken nose? I've suffered far worse beatdowns and carried myself as well as he, afterwards.

[Sh00Fly]

02:29 AM on 03/29/2012

Most hilarious spam post I've seen in a while.

[WhatchaTalkinBoutWillis]

11:48 PM on 03/28/2012

"For the people that are insinuating that Trayvon was shot JUST because he was wearing a hoodie, you are making light of the murder. He was shot because he jumped Zimmerman. Trayvon may or may not have had justification. We wont know until all the facts come out. Either way I am saddened that another black child lost his life.."

Interesting that you would suggest that WE don't have 'all the facts', yet YOUR version portrays Trayvon as the ASSAILANT?? Let me help YOU out with YOUR facts....

"The funeral director who handled Martin's funeral said there were no cuts or bruises on the teen's hands that would suggest a violent struggle or fight.

“I didn’t see any evidence he had been fighting anybody,” Richard Kurtz of Roy Mizell and Kurtz Funeral Home in Fort Lauderdale, told television talk show host Nancy Grace."

So YEA, lets wait 'until all the facts come out'!

[moana]

11:58 PM on 03/28/2012

I guess a woman wearing a mini-skirt is asking to be raped?? Errrrnt! Logic fail.

[rewith85man]

02:16 AM on 03/29/2012

No one deserves to be raped. It is no excuse.

[Bill Hamlet the Third]

08:14 AM on 03/29/2012

If you read my post instead of making insinuations, you would not see anywhere where I said that a person should be shot, and therefore your logic is flawed.