At the forefront of the headlines has been the blatant and apparent case of racial profiling and murder of Trayvon Martin, an African American youth, because of his race.  Complicit in this crime are George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Florida Police and the so-called Stand Your Ground law.  Now the Florida and US Justice Departments have been summoned and pressured as a result of public outcry to get involved and investigate why Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch leader, was able to carry out a vigilante style murder of unarmed Trayvon Martin without a police investigation.

I’ve been paying attention to critical thinkers who offer different perspectives on this case, such as Rev. Al Sharpton, anti-racism scholar Tim Wise, the Southern Poverty Law Center, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris Perry, Law scholar Kenji Yoshino, and Fox journalist Geraldo Rivera.  From this I tried to develop an understanding of how to contextualize this unthinkable act of violence.

Race is a complex issue in the US, and for many (especially Euro-American, or white people) it is an extremely uncomfortable subject to discuss.  For many African American’s and people of color race is ever present in their minds.  Many news reports this week included young African American men who talked about their parents lecturing them about how to behave in public and how to treat policemen.  There is a long tradition of African Americans and other people of color being subjected to racial profiling and having to deal with a double standard in the American justice system on a federal and local level.

To most of us, this was a blatant act of racist aggression.  There have even been white people who displayed solidarity with Trayvon Martin in the “hoodie” protests.  But on many blog sites and in news stories there were people who defended Zimmerman’s actions.  Even Geraldo Rivera argued that the hoodie was as responsible as Zimmerman for Trayvon Martin’s death, which proves that even a university educated person can make ridiculously stupid arguments.

We live in a nation that thrives of fear of people of color in general and specifically fear of African American males.  It is evident that George Zimmerman feared or loathed African American males.

While I believe Zimmerman and the Sanford police department should be investigated and convicted as co-conspirators in Trayvon Martin’s murder, I think we should look at how racism is pervasive in the justice system, in society in general, and in how laws like “Stand Your Ground” are fundamentally instrumental in perpetuating killings of people of color by white people.  This incident heightens awareness that the idea of living in a post-racial America is nothing but a myth.

Racism is often viewed as a personal act, perpetuated by ignorance or an individual’s hatred of people of other racial or ethnic groups.  But in reality it is a system of laws, policies, philosophy, beliefs and actions.  When you evaluate every sphere of American life, from education, employment, incarceration, housing, health care and social status, we are all designated to our positions in society because of our racial or ethnic backgrounds as well as the historical pattern of racial and ethnic violence that was employed to build this nation.  Unfortunately, even the poorest white people in American believe that they are superior to any person of color (even the President) due to their ethnic and racial heritage.  That is problematic because even though white people may suffer from the same class related issues, they still believe that their lives are better for being white.  Where there could be unity of all racial and ethnic groups around critical economic and social issues there will not be as long as race is a factor.

Race is a social-construct.  It really has nothing to do with a person’s color.  It all began with colonialism and continued with the American system of slavery, genocide against Native Americans, and displacement of Mexicans after the conquest of northern Mexico.  It includes the colonialization of Island nations such as Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines.  Racism and ethnic oppression is also manifested in the fear of the “other.”  Anyone who does not come from the European/Anglo tradition is viewed as the other.

Today Americans fear and loathe people from Africa, Asia, Arab and Muslim countries, Latin America and the Caribbean Islands.  Who is left?

Arizona, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and other states have enacted racial profiling laws that target Latinas and Latinos.  Racial profiling is prevalent anywhere that you find large numbers of the “other.”  For example, in San Jose, California in 2008 the police department was sued for racially profiling, detaining and arresting disproportionate numbers of Latinos in downtown San Jose.  Recently an Iraqi mother of five children was beaten and found with a note saying “go back to your country,” and she died from her wounds in El Cajon, California.

The murder of Trayvon Martin is wide reaching implications.  As a result of the national attention brought to his case, five New York policemen were fired as a result of an investigation of the police murder of unarmed Sean Bell.  It has also increased news coverage, blogging and commentaries about race.  The discussion about race has to go further than people having bad attitudes.  The discussion must address the question of the systemic application of government, corporate and societal laws, policies and actions that systematically oppress people due to their race and ethnic origin.

Immediately, Trayvon Martin’s family deserves justice.  This case should serve as an indictment of the justice system in Sanford, Florida and in this nation.

BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Joe Navarro is a creative writer, poet, educator and community activist who currently lives in Hollister, California.  You can learn more about Joe at joenavarro.weebly.com. Click here to contact Mr. Navarro.