Three years ago today, Trayvon Martin was murdered for no other reason than being a Black male. As much as detractors try to play up ambiguities in that nightâs circumstance or justify George Zimmermanâs actions, we know what it was about. The criminalization of Black men by our society has embedded an innate fear in many whites that I wonât apologize for but still have to be mindful of.
Three years later I still donât feel safe. Just walking home after a long dayâs work, youâre reminded youâre a Black male. Not only do you deal with people staring at you out of the corner of their eye when youâre behind them, or stopping to let you go ahead, you have to watch your back to make sure you donât pique the interest of another white male or police officer who thinks itâs our day to die.
If affirming your blackness alone is a revolutionary act, Trayvon Martin is a martyr of Blackness. As much as people want to pretend George Zimmermanâs attack was a happenstance incident, there were hundreds of years of context in his mind when he decided to hunt Trayvon, subconsciously or not.
Whatever was in Zimmermanâs mind, the media did a good job of pulling it out in their pathetic coverage of Trayvon Martinâs murder. From influencing prejudgment by choosing pictures of Trayvon that fit a âthugâ stereotype, to going to every possible length to defend Zimmermanâs actions, this country showed us what they thought of us.
Media anchors suddenly became Robert Kardashian, Johnnie Cochran and Mark Geragos all in one. Trayvon Martin was literally murdered by George Zimmerman for walking down the street, and Trayvon was on trial in the court of public opinion!
Whenever tragedy strikes this country, at least in the areas that âmatterâ, thereâs usually legislation that curtails it from happening again. The push for gun control laws after Sandy Hook loom most prominently in my mind. The stand your ground law has actually increased unjust murder, and thereâs been no thought of repealing it in the courts. This law is essentially giving people the OK to hunt Black men in Florida and say they were defending themselves from âthugsâ.
Modern racism isnât as overt as slavery or segregation, but legislation is the breeding ground for our subliminal extermination. Laws are being passed to steer us towards jail cells and graves. Trayvon Martin is a victim of that agenda.
- See more at: http://black-culture.com/racism-not-hoodies-the-real-menace-to-society/#sthash.hgpCFIRw.dpuf