Right now, George Zimmerman, the man responsible for snuffing out the life of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is sitting in a Seminole County jail awaiting arraignment on the high count charge of 2nd degree murder as well as other lessor charges. We are sure this gun toting vigilante didn’t think his predicament would be this grave 60 days ago as he singled out the unarmed teen. Many in his circle have attempted to put all types of stories out to the media in hopes of one of them possibly gaining some type of traction. If not for the efforts of civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson, Reverend Al Sharpton and many organizations around the world calling for the arrest of Zimmerman, this case would have surely been swept under the rug. It was clear from the start that Sanford Police didn’t have Trayvon’s best interest at heart otherwise Zimmerman would have been in jail several weeks ago.
It is unfortunate that people of color still have to march and protest to receive something that was already guaranteed under the United States Constitution that gives due process to all the citizens of America but clearly the road is still a long one for people of color. It is irrelevant and pointless to say Zimmerman was a Hispanic or half white because the issue is that a person of color didn’t receive the justice that someone of another race would have gotten if the tables were turned.
Tensions have been running high in Sanford, Florida where the shooting took place with multiple rallies, protests, patrols done by the New Socialist Movement (neo-Nazi group), and the New Black Panther Party putting a $10,000 bounty on Zimmerman’s head. The main cause of the unrest was that Zimmerman had not been arrested and charged in the killing of Trayvon. Across the nation, people have been calling for justice for Trayvon Martin and believe that his murder was racially motivated. Trayvon was black and Zimmerman is a White-Hispanic. There is even the question if Zimmerman used a racial slur in his 911 call. Zimmerman’s friends and family say that he is not arrested and was just defending himself when he pulled his weapon and killed Trayvon.
Zimmerman’s arrest has taken over conversation on all of the major news outlets and websites. Anderson Cooper 360 and Piers Morgan Tonight both has specials to focus on what is known and unknown about the case and what will happen to Zimmerman now that he has been arrested. Robert Zimmerman, George’s brother, was on Piers Morgan Tonight and said “Our brother could have been dead. Our brother had to take a life to save his life.”
With the arrest of Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s parents, spoke briefly at a press conference and his mother is quoted “We simply wanted an arrest, we wanted nothing more, nothing less, and we got it.” His father said “We will continue to walk by faith and we will march and march and march until the right thing is done.” Tampa journalist, Eric Deggars said people “wanted Zimmerman arrested & charged to the fullest extent” and that the arrest is “a relief.”
Trayvon Martin’s case can hardly be considered “surprising” or “isolated” because the lives of young black men in America seem to be dispensable. Year after year there are various situations that paint a light on black America that says, “you are not important.” Martin Lee Anderson. Sean Bell. Orlando Barlow. Travares McGill. Victor Steen. Kiwane Carrington. These are all names of young black men who have been unreasonably shot and killed, but they have been forgotten. The people who have committed the crimes against them have hardly been held responsible and that is inexcusable. There are countless other names that can be added to this list and if America stays on the road it’s on, there will surely be more names to add in the future. Although people try to work so hard to be “colorblind” and try to state that many of these instances are not based on race, they are mistaken. Racism is still a problem here. In comparison to times before now, America has taken great strides towards peace and equality, but these cases just prove that there is more to be desired.
It is 2012 and we are still having the conversation about what is right and wrong when it comes to taking the life of a black man. It is 2012 and there are more black men in prison than there are in college. Although this is a terrible circumstance, black people in America need to take this situation and learn from it. We (as a race and nation) need to make changes in the way we act, think, and live to stop this madness from continuing.
While there is a mountain of evidence against George Zimmerman, he is still presumed innocent until a jury of his peers convict him.
