trayvon martin

13 posts

Juror B-37 Takes Cue From Everyone, May Possibly Stop Talking Now

Perhaps it would have been best to take some much needed time to reflect before putting oneself at the center of a media bonanza after one of the largest televised court cases in recent American history. Did Juror B-37 of the George Zimmerman trial seek to process what was happening in the world around her before speaking publicly about the highly charged case — or did she rush to gain her fifteen minutes of fame? Continue reading

When Will Being Young, Black and Male Cease to be a Crime?

When we think of racial profiling and subsequent murders leading from the act, so many of the stories host a common thread, “A suspicious black male…” This is the thread that binds many young, black men across regions, through time, and through shared history. This is something Emmett Till, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin and numerous others can count as their experience in life and…in death. Continue reading

Zimmerman Attorney Takes “Selfie” Pic Mocking Trial Witness

Molly West, daughter of Zimmerman defense attorney, Don West, posted this picture of the two eating ice cream cones, presumably in “celebration” of West’s cross examination of prosecution star witness Rachel Jeantel. Jeantel is the young woman who last spoke to murdered teen, Trayvon Martin and who took the stand yesterday in hours-long testimony. Continue reading

Every Brown Boy

This post originally appeared on March 21, 2012. We are re-running it today on the anniversary of the death of Trayvon Martin.

Last night, I put a fleece hoodie on my five year old nephew so we could go for our routine walk through the neighborhood. He likes going for our walks as much as I do. We race down the street – him burning off sugar energy before bed, me (hopefully) burning off belly-fat creating calories. As we walk/run our several blocks, sometimes, often times, he gets ahead of me then looks back, pleading for me to catch him. It’s when he is away from me that I feel the most fear.

He is a sweet boy. Very smart and observant. He can replicate dance moves that he sees on Glee, always wants to watch SpongeBob, and never misses the opportunity to flirt with a pretty girl. Last night, he made a derogatory racial gesture at the dinner table and I explained to him why it is not okay to do that. I explained that it hurts people’s feelings and that it’s not acceptable to hurt or be mean to other people. I demonstrated the point by asking him what color his skin is, to which he replied: brown. I asked him how he would feel if a classmate put dirt on his body and then pretended to be like my nephew. He said he wouldn’t like it. Continue reading

What Now for Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton?

The subject of the Change.org email said it all: ‘Finally’

In the words that followed, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the parents of Trayvon Martin, expressed their satisfaction and relief that their son’s killer, George Zimmerman, had been charged with the murder of their son. It was a battle that spanned more than six weeks for Martin and Fulton as they sought justice for their son. Certainly, there are no guarantees that the Florida court system will provide the measure of justice Trayvon’s parents desire. However, the fact that Zimmerman will face a jury weeks after Sanford police seemed content to allow him to simply walk away under the cover of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has to feel like justice in and of itself. Continue reading