Trayvon Martin Case Seen as Barometer for Race in America
By Hazel Trice Edney
(TriceEdneyWire.com) The clarion cry for the arrest of George Zimmerman continues across America this week as protests rise from city to city in response to the Feb. 26 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
Zimmerman, the admitted killer of the unarmed teen carrying a bag of skittles, remains free this week. His claim of self-defense as a Neighborhood Watch captain is backed by the Sanford Police Department, whose police chief Bill Lee has temporarily stepped down in the wake of other investigations. The FBI, Attorney General Eric Holder’s office, a task force formed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott and a grand jury are all probing the shooting as thousands of protesters continue to converge on the near-Orlando city.
Meanwhile, the high-profiled case has caused civil rights groups to view it as a new barometer for America’s race relations in 2012. This view was underscored by President Barack Obama who won widespread applause among Black leaders for speaking out on the case.
“I’ve got to be careful about my statements to make sure that we’re not impairing any investigation that’s taking place right now,” Obama said in the Rose Garden March 23. “But obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through.”
The words of the nation’s first Black president became increasingly personal.
“And when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids. And I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this, and that everybody pulls together - federal, state and local - to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.”
Hinting at the deep racial implications, the President alluded to history of racial bigotry in America and how it affects Black families from every walk of life:
“I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means that examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident. But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was among the first to laud the President for his stance.
“I applaud and appreciate President Obama’s riveting resolve,” says SCLC Chairman Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., in a statement. Simultaneously, he, among thousands, expressed disappointment with the slow pace of justice in the case.
“I am aghast and disturbed that it has taken so long for the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to investigate the tragic and seemingly senseless killing of Trayvon Martin.”
Meanwhile, NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Rev. Al Sharpton have led joint rallies and spoken at numerous churches in the case, decrying the fact that Zimmerman, a White Hispanic, has yet to be arrested. A statement from Martin’s parents this week rebuked police who apparently leaked unrelated information saying Martin had been suspended from school for an offense associated with marijuana residue in a backpack.
“They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation,” said his mother, Sybrina Fulton.
On Tuesday, Fulton and Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, were on their way to Capitol Hill for a congressional hearing on police profiling.
The hearing, hosted by U. S. Rep. John Conyers, former chair of the House Judiciary Committee and currently the ranking member, was titled, “Protecting a ‘Suspect’ Community: Forum on Racial Profiling, Federal Hate Crimes Enforcement and ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws”.
It is the Florida “Stand Your Ground” law that is at the crux of the Zimmerman controversy. He claims he was within the law, which gives someone the right to kill if they feel their life is in danger. However, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, who signed that law, says it does not apply to a civilian who pursues a suspect.
A 911 tape reveals Zimmerman saying he was following Martin. Shortly afterward, Zimmerman could be heard under his breath saying what sounded like, “F----n’ Coon”, a racial epithet. The FBI and Justice Department are researching the recording to see whether Zimmerman could be charged with a hate crime.
Moving forward, the case has shed new light on the lack of racial justice and equality in America that will no doubt have residual effects. It has also given new life to a movement to stop violence against young Black males by police as well as among each other.
“The unfortunate occurrence of Trayvon Martin's untimely death reveals again the imperative for America to address race and justice,” concludes Damien Conner, captain of SCLC’s programs and chapters. “It is our turn, the youth of this country, to mount the brazen bull of inequity and slay the menacing monster of racism.”