Jay Z: This Charming Man

'No Sympathy For The King, Huh?'
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 20: Musician Jay-Z attends a rally in support of Trayvon Martin, organized by the Reverend Al Sharpton, in response to the non-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman on July 20, 2013 in New York City. In February 2012, Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a teenager, in Sanford, FL; he was found not guilty of murder due to Stand-Your-Ground laws. Protests have continued across the country since Zimmerman was found not guilty on July 13, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 20: Musician Jay-Z attends a rally in support of Trayvon Martin, organized by the Reverend Al Sharpton, in response to the non-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman on July 20, 2013 in New York City. In February 2012, Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a teenager, in Sanford, FL; he was found not guilty of murder due to Stand-Your-Ground laws. Protests have continued across the country since Zimmerman was found not guilty on July 13, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Considering how American the feeling is, there should be a word in English for the despair that attends our moments of racial atomization. Every few years, an event flares through the unsheathed wiring of our collective guilt, enmity, and shame, and it feels like we have fewer words than ever.

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