When George Zimmerman (now free on bail and enriched in excess of $200,000 by anonymous donors) was finally arrested and charged with the murder of Trayvon Martin, the Martin family and their supporters were relieved and grateful. The rusty wheels of justice were, at last, starting to turn. One distinguished columnist, who had been waiting to exhale, suggested that whatever the outcome of a trial -- or its preemption by a "stand your ground" defense -- justice will have been served.
Au contraire.
For much of America's history, black people have been told to wait. Wait for what? For white people's humanity to evolve?
We might as well be waiting for Godot. The manner in which the Sanford, Florida police handled Trayvon's murder is evidence that we have yet to arrive in the promised land of equal treatment under the law. The Sanford police chief, who acted with indifference or incompetence, was granted a temporary suspension with pay. Trayvon is in a grave. The police chief is on vacation.
The cases of police misconduct towards, and disregard for, blacks that have resulted in suspensions with pay are too many to mention. Only those suffering from a severe case of selective amnesia can forget seeing Rodney King reeling under the savage beating by the Los Angeles police in 1991. In determining whether the police had used excessive force, what did the nearly all white jury in Simi Valley trust -- the video tapes or their lying eyes?
Is there any doubt that if Trayvon had stalked and killed a white person, he would have been immediately arrested and charged with murder? Stand your ground be damned! Only his status as a teenager might have saved him from a seat in the electric chair.
The circumstances surrounding the Martin case have received enormous -- and for some, "too much," media attention. One contributor to the FOX network declared that if Trayvon had been murdered by a black man, it would have been a non-story.
Precisely! Black on black violence. Ho hum, just another day in the ghetto and a problem we don't have to deal with. FOX's man revealed what is at the heart of this case -- the invidious persistence of racism. Society has been conditioned to conclude that black people are predisposed to engage in criminal conduct and pose an inherent threat to all. We have become disposable. Our laws have been radicalized and our people branded and criminalized. The color of our skin has become a prison from which we are not allowed to escape.
Trayvon's fate continues to be compared to that of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old black boy from Chicago who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955. Much has changed in the intervening 57 years, but too much remains the same. Emmett was murdered for whistling at a white woman. Trayvon was allegedly murdered for walking while black and wearing a hoodie.
Emmett received a trial in a kangaroo court. His killers, after being quickly acquitted by an all white jury, confessed to the crime and laughed how they got away with it. Look Magazine paid them $4,000 for their sordid story. There's little doubt that the tabloids and magazines are hovering over Zimmerman with cash in hand.
Emmett's fate was not the exception for black victims of violence, just the rule.
Justice in this case, or the others that are sure to follow, will never be achieved until white society stops ignoring the presence of the elephant that has been sitting in our living rooms for the past three hundred years -- the persistence of race-based laws and cultural conditioning that dictate what black people can wear, when we can whistle, where we can walk, and who we can be.
Lawyers like to quip that any connection between law and justice is purely coincidental. If true, then Trayvon, like Emmett, may well receive a trail, but no justice.
John Merrow: A Deafening Silence
David McAlmont: Zimmerman: Ignorance and Nuance
Longer discussion of similarity between the cases here: http://defiantdolly.com/2012/04/20/yoshihiro-hattori-and-trayvon-martin/
A little over 2 years ago our neighborhood began to experience vast shift in robberies which were being done by young African Americans. It seemed like everyday something was being taken off of properties, windows broken, tvs, computers, jewelry, everyone was targeted. All homeowners, black, white & hispanic were calling the police reporting that young African Americans were doing it.that
Our neighborhood approached George about being the neighborhood watch.
When my home was robbed he came out after the police left to make sure I was ok
For several months prior to the shooting George was calling 911 reporting suspicious young black men looking through windows because that what he was seeing.
Tragically Trayvon was killed during this encounter, however I KNOW Trayvon punched George was attacking him at the time. He was shot in self defense
THATS THE TRUTH
It is fortunate that so much attention has been brought to bear on this case, because it has underlined a much more insidious trend in America: the proliferation of demagogues in positions of public trust. The journalists, so-called community leaders and civil rights activists who (supposedly in the pursuit of justice) ironically rushed to condemn the accused without due process, stirred up emotions and incited lawlessness with incendiary speech and then used the resulting attention to aggrandize themselves.
You begin by vaguely insinuating something sinister because GZ is "now free on bail and enriched in excess of $200,000 by anonymous donors" and continue by condemning the Sanford Police Chief as "indifferent or incompetent" without any demonstrable examples of professional impropriety whatsoever. On what facts do you base your opinion? Have you even read the Florida "Stand Your Ground" statute? Do you know why it was enacted? The facts are as follows: The Sanford Police Department did detain and question GZ on the night of the shooting, and released him at the direction of the Local State Attorney's office, in accordance with Florida statutes that prohibit the prosecution of any individual who can (reasonably) demonstrate a case of self defense. The purpose of this legislation was to protect the average citizen (with little or no financial resources for a legal defense) from prosecution by a State Attorney with unlimited resources. There is nothing "race-based" or "culturally conditioned" about this.
First, I think the conduct of the Sanford Police show no prejudice to the race of Martin. They took witness statements (which said that Martin was on top of Zimmerman), took evidence and relayed the matter to the DA. The DA rightly decided that there was insufficient evidence to even pursue a manslaughter charge, where only negligence needs to be proved. After days of media sensationalism, a “special prosecutor,” a woman who is trying to get a murder 2 conviction against an 8yr old boy for pushing his brother, decides to press charges. Here is something that we in the legal profession know – she has no hope of proving murder 2. These charges were initiated to placate the mob, and by this time they had taken a mob mentality.
Second, I think that the case of George Zimmerman is more reminiscent of the Duke Lacrosse “rape” case. The prosecutor is bowing to public pressure instead of acting like a minister of justice and viewing the facts dispassionately.
Finally, I am discussed by the media coverage on this issue. I typically laugh at how skewed Fox News presents “news.” I am ashamed to say that their “fair and balanced” is closer to the truth than anything I have seen on ABC, MSNBC, etc. The prejudicial language used, use of altered and not current photos, and outright modification of tapes to show prejudice.
Additionally if the police originally wanted to charge him with manslaughter, and that is what the original police report cites as the offense, why would they bolster the opposing side. It was the DA who decided not to press charges.
The author addressed black on black crime stating no one would care if the killer had been black. Point is, had the killer been black the killer would be in jail. Watch the next 48, you will learn that if a black man kills another black man and proclaims self-defense in the midst of a scuffle, he will be immediately arrested or the police will do their job to find and arrest the culprit.
Courtrooms, prisons, the entire judicial systems are filled with African American's fighting minor to major offenses. Zimmerman supporters use statistics of the number of blacks incarcerated and convicted of crimes calling Trayvon just another “thug” who deserved what he got. Some point to statistics saying black men are more likely to rob, kill and steal.
However, others want to address the biggest elephant in the room. This case is evident that blacks are more likely to be ticketed, cited and even arrested than whites are. Instead of pointing to statistics, it’s high time the statistics are questioned and those with authority be held accountable in doing their jobs treating everyone equally.
Comparing this story to what happened to Emment Till is of gross neglect to overstatement, considering in no way are the two incidents parallel. Emment Till was savagely hunt down then viciously, brutally slaughtered by a mob of vigilante racists, while Trayvon Martin was profiled because of previous criminal infractions that had occurred in that neighborhood. Not the same, and comparing the two, is as erroneous as someone 'yelling fire' in a crowded theater when there is none.
Certainly Zimmerman should've been detained and the case thoroughly investigated, with a careful examination of all facts. i.e. including how Trayvon doubled-back and initiated the confrontation between himself and Zimmerman and not the other way around.
What is dangerous about cases such as these, that every time there's an altercation between someone white and black, where the black person is seriously injured or dies, it will be automatically assumed racism is involved. However, the opposite if its a case of black on white, such as the Christan Newsome case....
He also knew what the bail hearing was for and withheld important information during that hearing. Instead of relating to a confessed killer, I would consider that what he said about Trayvon is not true.
Justice!
My experience is a drop in the bucket and will never measure up to the horrific truth of the people you]ve referenced in this article. It hurts still, and knowing this is what has been covered up not only by white Americans but Afro-Americans as well. The body heals, thankfully, but the mind and soul are hurting long on. It is time to understand that doing nothing will not achieve any Presidents' promise to stablize towards unity. The organizations that have capitalized on fund-raisers and contribuations, are called on to reopen the donation networks and finally link on to what white America has been doing for years, funding their agendas. We understand that it will take money and sacrifies to reinforce the NAACP, and other activists groups, Al Sharpton and now the Martin Family Fund. But it will be worth every dollar donated, money moves the movement, not hoodie purchases and social distractions. Preservation of our system must be worth the challegnes and efforts. Lack of any of this will devour our substance, marches, demonstrations and failure to obtain equality and fairness for Justice will obstruct our strives.