Like many Americans, I watched the press conferences about the Zimmerman arrest with great interest. I was at the gym at my Tribeca apartment building when the news came on, and everyone looked up to the televisions to follow what was going on. They listened to the prosecutor give her explanation succinctly and professionally.
Then Al Sharpton came on.
Now, Sharpton certainly deserves credit for this arrest. It would not have happened without him, leaders like him, and the average citizens who could not bear the enormity of the injustice. Finally, marching did something besides messing up people's shoes. I love Al but he is polarizing. One man at the gym rolled his eyes before one sentence was out of Sharpton's mouth. Many people perceive Sharpton the same way that I perceive, say, Bill O'Reilly. Whenever I hear O'Reilly, I assume that what he is presenting as "fact" is heavily skewed propaganda. Even when I agree with him -- and though it's rare, it does happen -- I am simply not receptive to the messenger.
To his further great credit, Sharpton was aware of how he's perceived and spoke accordingly. He went out of his way to praise Rick Scott, Florida's Tea Party Republican governor. He admitted that he did not trust Scott, and was proven wrong. In calm, level tones, Shaprton admonished those watching him that this was not a time to celebrate. Then he did the exact right thing: he stepped away from the mike.
When the family's attorney Benjamin Crump came on the television, I could barely believe how long he went on. I watched the people in the gym, and I saw the looks on their faces. It was a look I knew well. In my stand-up career, I've experienced what it's like to lose the audience by running my mouth for too long -- and those were people who had paid to see me. One by one, the people at the gym tuned the press conference out.
Finally, Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton spoke. This was the way to appeal to people's humanity and their sense of right and wrong. Nothing is as American as a mother -- and nothing is as human. That was when the press conference should have ended.
But it did not.
The Zimmerman trial won't be held in Harlem or Baltimore. It will not be held in the court of public opinion, either. It will be held in Sanford, which is 57 percent white. It will be held in Florida, which is Southern. People tend not to think of Florida as a "Southern" state because they don't speak with an accent there. But it was the third state to secede, months before Arkansas and Kentucky. It was also the very state where Casey Anthony got acquitted of murdering her own child.
Look what's at stake in this case. This country is divided by race at a time when so much is on the line. No one could be more pleased than I that George Zimmerman has been arrested--but I am also aware of the optics of the situation. Even if Lady Justice is blind, every so often she does take a peek. If the case is perceived as "us versus them," every human being always chooses "us." OJ walked when it became "us versus them." If it becomes "us versus them," the prosecution doesn't have the numbers. If a color blind society is the goal, then people must become blind to color.
There are already those who believe Zimmerman was only charged due to political pressure. Many are waiting to exploit racial fears for political purposes. It's already begun. Those who believe Zimmerman's side could have defended him while expressing sorrow that a kid died needlessly, under tragic circumstances. But instead they are dragging this poor boy's body through the mud. It's not enough that he's dead. They are making sure that he's denigrated, too, lest he become a symbol.
If this trial bears any resemblance to a rally, I fear that the jury will lose a great deal of sympathy. Everyone relates to parents mourning the loss of their child. The only way to win this trial is to make it about people and families, not about civil rights and politics. I can guarantee that there will be people of all ideological stripes on that jury, and they will need to persuaded just as much as everyone else. How? By calling to their decency and humanity, as opposed to whatever their voting biases may be. People generally want to do the ethical thing, but they have to be listening to what you're saying first. But if it becomes a "black thing," they simply grow disinterested. A disinterested jury will not send a man to jail. If one, just one, juror sees a bunch of upset black people and thinks "there goes the neighborhood," this case is lost.
And frankly, that's something I don't want to think about.
Follow D.L. Hughley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/realdlhughley
http://changecomesslow.com/2012/04/20/the-sympathetic-defendant/
I wish everyone would take a deep breath and let the system work.
ECS
The trial probably won't occur until next year, which will,hopefully, lower emotions all around.
What I absolutely agree with in Mr Hughley's statement is: nothing IS more human than motherhood. 99% of people anywhere ought to understand that and......... by extension, fatherhood. All other issues aside, let the parents have time and space to grieve.
Legally 17 is an age of transition and many young people are on their own acting as adults.
I do not accept that you can call trying to keep sight of a person you believe to be a possible burglar for such a short span of time as "hunting." I think that is an emotional exaggeration of the circumstance.
I see little of that. I tend to see it as a tragic set of circumstances. My opinion changed based on what facts are presently available. My opinion may change again if future revelations warrant. Everyone should make an effort to look at the totality of information and not let personal emotions cloud their judgment!
As for what the media thrives on they give the people what they want if you are in objection o that you cannot speak for the people the people speak for themselves.
And there is nothing new about keeping sale and ratings up that all in the game…but as for sensationalizing the stories.
This was not necessary the particular story that has you hopping right now is carnage GZs admitted to committing on an unarmed AfrAm child.
Yes at 17 years old he was mere child as for innocent yes he was, for any time that you are minding your own business, do not provoke anyone to assault you and retreat from an assault you are innocent.
He wasn’t threatening anyone, burglarizing homes, are breaking into cars, but walking to his father’s girlfriend’ s and he did run away from the confrontation. What is he to have done to have avoided this incident?
He did all he could do to avoid the incident and is still being labeled as the cause of the problem.
You whine about the fact that GZ was presented by the news media as a white/Hispanic, a racist profiler and the crime was followed by police inaction .
What is striking is that all of this is true and cannot be disputed yet you are upset with the fact that this wanton killing was brought to the light.
And you're right, DL. If it becomes a black vs. white thing, the teams have already been picked, because there's nothing any of us can do about the identity with which we were born.
When we seek justice, we need to remove race from the equation to the fullest extent possible. Ultimately, this is about people, not color.
Only God can remove outside influences to rightfully judge. Man is incapable of doing that
at least you got it right! The inflcting of continued desired character for Trayvon and that "thug" classification is despictable. Trayvon Martin, in the eyes of some will continue to be belittled so that his status and the incident involving his death in Sanford Fl, will be the key to knock off iconic or symbolic earnings. But I know the incident holds much more meaning than this. It is a wake-up call for people in this country to understand what is really going on. In Fl and around the region is an attempt to demean people of color even further than the 1800's. There is an agenda to shorten livelyhoods and take down the nations's Afro-American population. How this is known? It is being done everyday, beginning in DC and spilling into the countries states, cities and communities.
I once lived in Fl, not to flame the fire, but to acknowledge the differences of- uncaring to the regards of civil and due process rights for all. The justice system is questionable but until the evidence presents a positive identity pointing to "beyond a reasonable doubt;" this man will probably be aquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin the youth... but the outcome will point to the injustice and unfairness of a small town called "Sanford, Fl"