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July 24. 2013
jßortlanö (Observer
Page 15
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Vigilante Justice against Black Males
Let us refuse
to be silent
by
M arian W right E delman
The reaction to the not guilty
v e rd ic t
fro m
G eo rg e
Zimmerman's jury was swift
and strong. Y oung peo p le
poured onto the streets in peace­
ful protests. M ore than 1 million
people signed an online petition
urging the Justice Department
to pursue civil rights violation
c h a rg e s
a g a in s t
G eo rg e
Zimmerman.
The outrage over the killing of
an unarmed black teenager who
was doing nothing wrong must
continue until some semblance
of justice is achieved. People
who want to keep faith in Ameri­
can justice feel uncomfortable,
u p set and d is ­
heartened.
W here is the
justice if walking
w h ile b lack is
enough to get you
"sto p p e d
and
frisked" in New York City and
fatally shot in Florida with its
senseless violent "Stand Your
Ground" law that allows people
to defend themselves with deadly
force anytim e and anyw here
they imagine they are or say
they feel threatened even if they
are the stalker?
Many decades of struggle and
progress to eliminate racial pro­
filing, arbitrary arrests, unfair
sentencing, imprisonment and
criminalization of black males at
younger and younger ages are
being reversed by determined
special interests like the gun
lobby putting profits before the
most basic American civil rights.
The National Rifle Associa­
tion and their allies', including the
American Legislative Exchange
Council, determined efforts to
support and pass "Stand Your
Ground" and other destructive
laws to protect guns rather than
children perpetuates the epidemic
o f gun violence, especially for
B lack m ale te e n a g e rs lik e
Trayvon Martin.
Black children and teens were
17 times more likely to die from
a gun homicide than white chil­
dren and teens in 2010. Since
1963,59,265 black children and
teens have been killed by guns -
- more than 17 times the re­
corded lynchings of black people
of all ages in America between
1882 and 1968.
What made a black male teen­
ager in a hoodie walking home in
the rain appear suspicious and
"up to no good" in G eorge
Zimmerman's eyes? Would he
have stopped a white male teen­
ager? Isn't it long past time that
we have a candid conversation
about how we can create a post-
racial America for our children
and grandchildren beginning to­
day?
Let us refuse to be silent. If
Trayvon M artin's parents had
been silent and other voices
had not jo in e d w ith th em ,
G e o rg e Z im m e rm a n n e v e r
w ould have been arrested and
never would have been brought
to trial.
Let us continue to refuse to be
silen t u ntil all the G eo rg e
Zimmermans of this world are
deterred and held accountable
for vigilante justice against black
males
Let us refuse to be silent until
the killing of black mothers' sons
is as important as the killing of
white mothers' sons. Only then
w ill we have a p o st-ra c ia l
America.
Marian Wright Edelman is
President o f the Children's
Defense Fund.
Don’t Let the Memory of Trayvon Martin Fade
We can turn our
frustration into
action
by
B en J ealous
One million people.
In ju st three days,
one m illio n p eo p le
signed an NAACP pe­
tition asking the D e­
partment of Justice to pursue
federal and civil rights charges
against George Zimmerman af­
ter he was founded not guilty in
the murder of Trayvon Martin.
I knew I was not alone in my
outrage, anger, and heartbreak
over this decision. W hen a
teenager's life is taken, and there
is no accountability for the man
who killed him, nothing seems
right in the world.
But we cannot let these em o­
tions rule us. Instead, in these
most challenging o f times, we
are called to act. That begins
with the pursuit of justice for
Trayvon Martin, and it continues
with a comprehensive campaign
to fight the underlying problems
factors that led to his
death.
The first step is clear:
we must make sure that
G eorge Zim m erm an is
held accountable for his
actions. The jury's deci­
sion must be respected
and the rule o f law upheld, but
that does not mean the investi­
gation should be considered com­
plete. The trial judge's decision
to discount debate about race or
racial profiling in the courtroom
leaves open questions about
Zim m erm an's motivation and
intent.
The D epartm ent of Justice
has the pow er to investigate
whether Zimmerman's actions
constitute a hate crime under
federal law. The D epartm ent
has closely monitored the case
since March, and only put their
il!' JJnrtlanit (Observer
P u b l is h e r :
E d it o r :
Established 1970
Mark Washington
M ich a el L eig h to n
E xecutive D irector :
Rakeem Washington
C reative D irector :
P aul N e u fe ld t
O ffice M anager /C lassieieds :
A dvertising M anager :
Lucinda Baldwin
Leonard Latin
investigation on hold to respect
the state's trial. Since the verdict
and the overwhelming response,
Attorney General Eric Holder
has agreed to re-open his inves­
tigation.
As he told the Delta Sigma
Theta convention last week, "We
are determined to meet division
and confusion with understand­
ing and compassion - and also
with truth."
This is the power of one m il­
lion voices. One voice in angry
protest can be ignored, but when
one million people speak as one
- and thousands more take to the
street in peaceful protest, rallies
and vigils - we can change the
world.
So what comes next? As we
closely follow the Department
of Justice's investigation, we
must continue to draw on our
collective outrage and refuse to
let the memory of Trayvon M ar­
tin fade from the hearts and
minds of the nation.
USPS 959-680
Trayvon M artin's death did - the first tim e in eight years.
not occur in a vacuum . Ours And last m onth the New York
was supposed to be the first City Council passed a strong
generation black A m ericans to bill banning the racially abu­
be judged not by our race or sive practice o f "stop and frisk"
the color o f our skin. Instead, p o licin g , after hundreds o f
we find ourselves to be the thousands o f people protested
m ost m urdered generation in in the nam e o f Trayvon.
the country and the m ost in­
We have a choice. We can be
c a r c e r a te d on th e p la n e t. felled by our sorrows over the
M eanw hile, racial profiling jury's decision. Or we can turn
continues to rear its ugly head our frustration into action. We
in law enforcem ent and civil­ will demand the Department of
ian life alike.
Justice address the travesties of
At this m om ent we have a this tragedy. We will advance
chance to address som e o f our movement to end racial pro­
these societal ills. W e have a filing in America.
chance to challenge racial pro­
And with more than one mil­
filing in all its form s, and to lion people at our back, we will
fight the underlying cause of make sure that the m em ory
violence in our com m unities — Trayvon M artin never fades
by the good guys and bad guys from the hearts and minds of this
alike.
nation.
This last year we have al­
Sign the NAACP's petition at
ready changed the world. Not naacp.org.
a single state in the continental
Ben Jealous is president and
U nited S tates has passed a chief executive officer o f the
"stand your ground" law in 2013 NAACP.
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