“Students need to understand that this is history in the making. Since Trayvon Martin died, youth all over America have banded together to make a difference - our rally will be no exception.”
Jarrod Williams, a junior at Wright State and president of Black Men on the Move, said this before the “Who’s Inside the Hood” event on Friday, March 30.
The event was in commemoration for Trayvon Martin - students rallied and marched with their hoods up, as to pay homage to the black teenager that was cruelly murdered last month.
On that sunny Friday morning, students marched in silence to Meijer to purchase iced tea and Skittles - the items Martin had when he was killed. The march was followed by a series of prolific speeches in the Atrium.
According to those who organized the event, the collective goal was to raise awareness about injustices that occur at both a micro and macro level, as a result of racial profiling, stereotyping and acting on one’s prejudices in a discriminatory way. However, the commemorative event was not in solidarity with Martin because of his skin color. Those who participated in the march/rally were advocating his innocence as a human being.
As we all know, the media has taken this issue and ran with it. New facts, perspectives, and more “sides of the story” have been exposed to the public eye faster than anyone could have imagined. As a result, the murder of a teenage boy has spiraled out of control, not only into a “race issue” but into a nationwide controversy.
Despite how tragic Martin’s death was and still is, some may consider him a martyr - his death was a somber reminder of the struggles and “suspicions” many minorities in the United States have to face on a daily basis. Perhaps the media was unjustified in turning Martin’s murder into a “racial flare-up.” However, that’s what it has become and we must all take it with a grain of salt and act accordingly.
While we try to absorb and digest all of the information we can about the matter, none of us can truly know every aspect of the events that transpired on the night of February 26 - the night of Martin’s death. We can merely speculate (and evidently work ourselves into an often irrational frenzy).
Nevertheless, there are some facts that we do know.
For example, the 17-year-old, was in Sanford, Florida to visit some relatives. They live in a gated community that is within walking distance to a 7-Eleven. Martin had just returned from the convenience store with an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood-watch volunteer, saw Martin walking and proceeded to call 911.
Quotes from Zimmerman’s alleged emergency call are as follows:
“Hey, we’ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood and there’s a real suspicious guy.”
“This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something.”
“These [expletive], they always get away.”
After saying the final quote, Zimmerman was asked by the 911 operator if he was pursuing Martin, to which he responded that he was.
“We don’t need you to do that,” said the operator. At any rate, Zimmerman continued to do so.
In a separate call, made by a local resident, blood curdling screams and cries for help can be heard in the background. Beyond these facts, a few scrapes on Zimmerman’s body, his word, and the corpse of Martin with a bullet-hole in his chest (from a 9 mm) are the only clues that remain.
Now as to whether or not Zimmerman has been telling the truth, acting in self defence in his killing of Trayvon (under the “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida), is for the judicial circuit to decide.
Even though the ultimate decision comes down to a judge, the nation has still been crying for justice to be delivered: “George Zimmerman should be locked up!”
Wright State is not the only one who has protested the injustice of Zimmerman’s current freedom. Rallies all over America have sprung up in response to young Martin’s death. Reverend Al Sharpton, a veteran civil rights leader, has championed the majority of the large protests in Florida.
We, as avid media consumers, must be able to form a legitimate, rational judgement on the issue concerning why Martin was killed - after all, isn’t that what all of the controversy is over?
Before hitting the streets with our picket signs or getting into arguments over the innocence of an overly-defensive and trigger-happy man, we must do our research.
We have to ask ourselves, “is the news source from which I am receiving my ‘unknowable’ information -- about the events that transpired on the night of Martin’s death and what was going on in Zimmerman’s head at the time -- credible?”
Instead of pointing fingers at specific parties in this issue, we must first determine whether this was a race issue, a privatization issue, a gun-control issue or an issue concerning Florida’s questionable laws that protect self defense. Once we figure that out, then we will be able to conceive what, exactly, has exacerbated our nation’s ugly habit of the unfair and biased treatment of minorities.
Many may criticize George Zimmerman for racially profiling Travyon Martin by saying he was up to “no good”, by just seeing the color of his skin and his hoodie.
Are we not just as bad, though, for profiling Zimmerman and making hasty assumptions about the situation in which they were both involved?
None of us were there and will never know the series of events and emotions that lead to the death of a studious and friendly, 17-year-old’s death.
May Trayvon Martin rest in peace and may the suffering of his family be alleviated by the fair, judicial decision made over the possible incarceration of his assailant.
