I�d
like to ignore this one, act like it never happened� but
it did� a murder at the hands of the self-righteous. Facts,
unfounded. Another young brother, dead. Case closed. But
then again, we cannot allow the same production to speak
to how this story ends� for Trayvon Martin�s sake, as
well as America�s own.
In
late February (Black History Month), a young Black man,
Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by a Hispanic white
male, George Zimmerman. So the facts played out as yet
another sad and unjust tragedy in the legacy of American
criminal justice - or injustice as it stands. You see,
the same actors - young Black man accused of being �the�
fully loaded fireman and a dismissive policing agency
- bring this production to life. But once again, this
is not an act, this is real life.
The
young Black male always ends up the one dead, and the
conservative commentators act as if whites are the victims.
The shooter, Zimmerman, lied to local police investigating
the incident - and they took his word for it. No background
check. No alcohol sobriety tests (on the shooter), but
the police did conduct drug tests on the corpse
of Trayvon Martin! What part of justice is that? It�s
the routine part of justice that causes Blacks to distrust
any form of policing and bureaucratic investigation.
Martin
has been dead since February 26th, but after Sanford,
Florida�s Black community organized
- even calling in the oft-maligned, Rev. Al Sharpton,
now real investigations might take place.
Why
does it take being affronted (Black victims) and outed
(white-run investigative agencies) before the latter respects
due process rights and laws. Shouldn�t this be police
protocol?
Of
course, it should, but as outlined in my forthcoming book,
As a Condition of Your Freedom, America
is undergoing a digression from its Civil Rights strides:
Despite a mistaken perception, too many in power believe
that Blacks have gained too much voice in calling for
an �end� to the Civil Rights battle.
With
this country�s sordid history of racial injustice, elected
officials continue to devise ways and means to undermine
those strides for equality under the law. From Kentucky
Republican Senator Rand Paul�s call for repeal of the
1964 Civil Rights Act to the current challenge to the
federal Affirmative Action law (that the U.S. Supreme
Court will hear this Fall 2012), any exertion by Blacks
to make their offenders accountable is portrayed as a
criminal act. I�m saying �no more;� these maneuvers to
shirk accountability must stop
A
former slave state, Florida, is steeped in racial injustice. From Zora
Neal Hurston�s accounts of �strange fruit,� to more contemporary
cases, such as Lionel Tate�s (the 9-year-old tried and
convicted as an adult for accidentally killing his friend
while imitating a wrestling move), we know as Americans
what racism looks like. We also know what motivates racist
acts: fear and hatred. Fear is the underlying element
in violence. What someone might do will cause one
to stoop to the lowest levels of human behavior� thus,
we stand here at this juncture� at this time� Trayvon
Martin lies victim to Zimmerman�s fear and hatred.
We
should also be aware that the shooter, George Zimmerman,
isn�t the only one who should be arrested, prosecuted,
convicted and imprisoned. The lawmakers who passed the
�Stand Your Ground� law are just as guilty - if guilty
only of escalating an already unstable racial dynamic
in the constituent communities they represent.
The
�Stand Your Ground� law says a person who feels threatened
has no duty to retreat and, in return, may respond with
force - deadly force. You see, Zimmerman was empowered
by the law, even more than by the firearm. It appears
that �law-abiding� white males have a greater propensity
for causing mayhem and carnage than other demographic
groups of the American populace. In early March, two people
were shot dead at a psychiatric clinic in Pittsburgh.
It wouldn�t take long to ascertain the race of the shooter,
but I digress.
A
more recent incident is that of an Iraqi mother of five,
fatally beaten in her California home. A note calling the family terrorists was found near
her body. I seriously doubt this homicide was an Iraqi-on-Iraqi
crime or one where the murderer was of some other ethnic
minority.
We
stand on the sidelines as 12 states continue on paths
to allowing their residents to own handguns - with NO
permits! What I know is that thousands of Black males,
warehoused in prisons across America
for owning handguns - without permits, haven�t killed
a soul. Why is that, you think? Race. It�s a simple case
of racial injustice� under the law.
It
is time, due season, for us to get off the sidelines,
and get busy - busy un-electing irresponsible lawmakers
who kowtow to the lobbying money of the National Rifle
Association (NRA) and the Gun Owners of America (GOA).
The attack on Black men is prevalent, present and active.
I�ve documented far too many cases to count of race-based
injustice (see www.stopattackingblackmen.com).
(We know documentation doesn�t stop murderers from murdering.)
We must �out� the bad guys - including police departments
that undermine due process and rule of law. We must take
to the streets and demand justice. We must dispel our
apathy of the electoral process, if we are to thrive in
this country. Notice, I did not say live, survive,
or definitely did I not say walk on egg shells.
Our
ancestors paid a heavy price for a stake in the American
process. We cannot squander centuries of blood, sweat
and tears, hoping for violent men to become peaceable.
The United States brand of justice
is admirable in theory, but deplorable in practice. The
integrity of that brand - the U.S.
stage on which its racial dynamics unfold - shall never
change with the same actors.
BlackCommentator.com
Columnist, Perry
Redd, is the former Executive Director of
the workers rights advocacy, Sincere Seven, and author
of the on-line commentary, �The
Other Side of the Tracks.� He is the host of the internet-based
talk radio show, Socially Speaking in
Washington,
DC.
Click
here to contact Mr.
Redd.
