The Trayvon Martin tragedy continues to grip our communities as we wrestle with the loss of yet another young, black life. The narrative is familiar, an un-armed black man was killed by a white guy and the police aren’t doing much to aid the situation. A simple and impassive explanation, but it is all too proverbial to our community.
Our experiences with racism and bigotry from law enforcement run deep and this case opens old wounds and conjures aged memories of our history with the police.
We marched for Sean Bell, we cried for Oscar Grant, and we are angry over Trayvon Martin. The fact that George Zimmerman, the confessed killer of Martin, remains free renews most of our fears about the apathy that law enforcement can have toward black folk.
It reminds “us” that sometimes we only have “us” to rely on when it comes to justice. Trayvon’s family deserves justice and so does the life of this young man. The focused anger and emotion coming out of this moment from the community helps to renew my idealism.
The marches, rallies, town halls, and conversations surrounding this case replenishes my political spirit. But I also have a new level of cynicism. My prayer is that the justice system works in the favor of righteousness.
Trayvon’s family deserves the truth and for their son’s killer to be brought to justice. It is also important for our discourse regarding race and politics.
As we continue to galvanize in the name of justice for Trayvon, my mind will not allow me to look pass our failure to address some of our communities most pressing issues.
Matters of race and bigotry have always afflicted our neighborhoods. They were here before my birth and unfortunately will continue long past my death. It is important that we continue to fight racism with all our might and I believe that we will continue to do so. However, we must use that same fervor to fight crime in our own backyards, to tackle violence, diminutive opportunities, recidivism, poverty, and so much more. We cannot allow emotion to drive our agenda because if we do, we are bound to permit inconstancy to draw our story.
We are always concerned with the apathy shown toward our issues when race and dogmatist thoughts seem to dominate the situation. We are experiencing that indifference now with Trayvon Martin.
Yet why should we expect concern about our issues when we show a lack of anxiety when faced with our difficulties? The eradication of a generation started awhile ago, yet we move along as if we are building a strong foundation for the next one to stand up on.
Continue to fight for justice for Trayvon, he deserves it, his family does, and so does this community. But do not forget about the brothers and sisters we lose everyday to gun violence committed by those we call brothers and sisters.
The passion we have shown for Trayvon should be just as palpable for the young man who was gunned down by someone who shares the same skin color. We owe it to ourselves.
Nice piece. We need to push our own community organizations and churches to do more.
As a member of the black community, I hate playing the race card; however, it’s hard not to do so when looking at and hearing about cases such as these. I don’t want to join any rallies or protests. I just pray everyday that the justice system will do the right thing. In my heart, I know it will.