Opinion
12 Things to Know About Trayvon’s Murder
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1
) Trayvon Martin was a 17-
year-old Miami student
visiting Sanford, Fla., near
Orlando, with his father when he
was killed On Feb. 26. His father,
who also lives in Miami, was vis-
iting his girlfriend in Retreat at
Twin Lakes, a gated townhouse
community.
2) Trayvon had made a short trip
to a nearby 7-Eleven store to pick
of a bag of Skittles and a can of
Arizona iced tea as was returning
when he was stalked by Zimmer-
man.
3) George Zimmerman, whose
father is White and mother is of
Peruvian descent, fatally shot
unarmed Tayvon in chest.
4) Zimmerman was an unregis-
tered neighborhood watch captain
who was not supposed to carry a
weapon while on patrol. Chris
Tutko, director of Neighborhood
Watch for the National Sheriffs’
Association, told the Orlando Sen-
tinel that Zimmerman had broken
a couple of cardinal rules. “If you
see something suspicious, you
report it, you step aside and you let
law enforcement do their job,”
Tutko said. “This guy went way
beyond the call of duty. At the
least, he’s overzealous.” Tutko
also said volunteers should never
carry lethal weapons. He said
“There’s no reason to carry a gun.”
5)
Though
Zimmerman
acknowledged killing Trayvon, he
was questioned and then released.
Police did not follow basic guide-
lines of homicide investigations
such as testing him for drugs and
alcohol, though they performed
the tests on Trayvon.
T HE C URRY
R EPORT
George E.
Curry
6) Trayvon was talking on his
cell phone to his girlfriend shortly
before his death and reported
being followed by a strange man
hoodie. Some have even blamed
Trayvon’s death on his clothing.
On the March 23 edition of Fox
News’ Fox & Friends, network
contributor Geraldo Rivera said,
“I am urging the parents of Black
and Latino youngsters particularly
to not let their children go out
wearing hoodies. I think the hood-
ie is as much responsible for
Trayvon Martin’s death as George
Zimmerman was.” However oth-
ers, such as CNN’s Anderson
Cooper, say they frequently adorn
hoodies and have never been
Trayvon’s parents still have nightmares
about his death
in a vehicle.
7) A police dispatcher specifical-
ly told Zimmerman not to follow
Trayvon, instructions he ignored.
When Zimmerman confirmed he
was following Trayvon, the dis-
patcher said.
“OK, we don’t need you to do
that.” Zimmerman continued any-
way.
8) Benjamin Crump, the fami-
ly’s lawyer, said that based on 911
tapes, Zimmerman harbored at
least three stereotypes of Black
males: “He said, No.1, he looked
suspicious. No.2, he must be high.
No. 3, he’s looking to break in
some place.”
9) Some said that Trayvon
became a suspect because he wore
a hooded sweat shirt, known as a
viewed as suspected criminals.
And no one dare suspect New
England Patriots Coach Bill
Belichick or Facebook co-founder
Mark Zuckerberg, both known for
wearing hoodies, of being crimi-
nals. Some kooks posting on Fox
News Network site were extreme-
ly crass. One wrote, “GOOD
SHOT ZIMMY. I’m just glad Zim-
merman didn’t miss and hit an
innocent bystander.”
10) Police say Zimmerman was
not arrested because of Florida’s
stand your ground law, a measure
that gives broad protection to any
citizen
acting
in
self-
defense. However, Jeb Bush, who
as governor of Florida signed the
stand your ground bill into law,
said the legislation does not cover
the neighborhood watch captain
who shot Trayvon Martin to death.
“This law does not apply to this
particular circumstance,” Bush
said after an education panel dis-
cussion at the University of Texas
at Arlington. “Stand your ground
means stand your ground. It does-
n’t mean chase after somebody
who’s turned their back.”
11) At 9 years old, Trayvon
saved his father’s life. In an inter-
view with Roland Martin on TV
One, the elder Martin said: “At the
time, he was 9 years old. We had
just came from the Little League
football park. We fell asleep while
the stove was on. A grease fire
started. I went into the kitchen to
try to put the grease fire out. The
grease splattered all over my leg.
My body went into shock and by
me and him being in the house, I
started calling out his name. He
finally woke up and, at 9 years old,
he pulled me from out of the
kitchen, where the kitchen cabi-
nets were on fire. He pulled me
out of the kitchen onto the bal-
cony. He actually went back into
the house and got the cell phone
and called 911.”
12) Trayvon’s parents still have
nightmares about his death. His
father, in an exclusive interview
with NNPA publishers, said: “I
can’t describe the feeling, I can’t
describe what was going through
my mind because I was actually
staring at a photo of my pride and
joy on the ground dead. I still see
the photo now – his eyes weren’t
closed all the way, his mouth was-
n’t closed, it was the worst feeling
of my life.”
George E. Curry is former edi-
tor-in-chief of Emerge magazine
and the NNPA News Service.
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1972: What Happened to Audacity?
F
orty years ago this month,
ten thousand African Ameri-
cans thronged to Gary, IN
for the first National Black Politi-
cal Convention. They gathered to
develop a black agenda, and to
influence 1972 presidential poli-
tics. One of the things on the
agenda was the development of an
independent black political party
and to explore the notion of inde-
pendent black politics. To
commemorate this anniversary,
Dr. Ron Daniels convened a group
of people on Capitol Hill to see the
movie, Nation Time, and to listen
to a group of people, some of
whom had been at Gary, talk about
what Gary means today.
One of the things that was excit-
ing about the film was the energy
and audacity of the black folk who
were gathered at Gary. There is a
young Jesse Jackson leading the
chant, “What time is it? It’s nation
time”. There is a forceful Richard
Hatcher, then mayor of Gary,
explaining why the gathering was
necessary. There is Imamu Baraka,
calling for votes. There is Queen
Mother Moore, speaking on the
necessity for reparations. There is
energy, audacity.
All weekend, there have been
rallies in support for Trayvon Mar-
tin and his family, demands that
George Zimmerman, the man who
executed Trayvon, be arrested, and
demands that Florida’s vigilante
Page 4 The Portland Skanner March 28, 2012
B ENNETT
C OLLEGE
Julianne
Malveaux
laws be reviewed. Rev. Al Sharp-
ton led some 30,000 people in a
Florida rally, and the NAACP also
plans a rally. As people rally to
the audacity that was so clearly
present in Gary four decades ago.
Since then, too many of us have
become satisfied and complacent.
Too many are into “me” not “we”.
Even as African Americans con-
tinue to be battered by our
economy, too many are blaming
themselves, not our economic
structure, for the situation they
find themselves in. And we have
been too tolerant of those who
freely bandy about racial slurs.
George Zimmerman apparently
Facing an organized African
American community, Zimmerman
might have thought twice between
raising his gun and using it
support Trayvon Martin and con-
demn Zimmerman, it is important
to remember that this tragedy is
one of several. Zimmerman,
apparently, felt threatened by Skit-
tles, iced tea, and a hoodie. How
many other young black men have
been executed in similar circum-
stances?
This Trayvon Martin case may
have a galvanizing effect on
African American people. Still, we
have to ask what has happened to
thought he could get away with a
public execution. And, truth be
told, to date he has. There has been
no investigation, no arrest. All he
had to say was that he acted in
self-defense, and he was off scott
free. No matter that the 911 opera-
tor told him not to pursue Trayvon.
No matter that there is no evidence
of self-defense. Trayvon Martin is
dead and George Zimmerman is
free. Where is our audacity?
George Zimmerman seems to
think there are no consequences to
executing a young black man on
the public streets. He seems to
think so because African Ameri-
can audacity has just about
disappeared. Facing an organized
African American community,
Zimmerman might have thought
twice between raising his gun and
using it. Fearing an organized
black community, Zimmerman
might have thought twice before
uttering a racial slur. No doubt, he
has learned from the best. Rush
Limbaugh pops off at the mouth
any chance he gets, using racial
and gender slurs and only recently
suffering any consequences. Newt
Gingrich calls President Obama a
“food stamp president” and he is
only mildly called on it. No won-
der Zimmerman thought his effort
was acceptable. Until now, he has
had no evidence to the contrary.
It is easy to say, “black people
need to be more organized”, but it
is difficult to do. Still, the Trayvon
Martin case reminds us of the need
for an organized African American
movement. And Gary reminds us
that once there was audacity. We
have to find that audacity again so
that no racist on the loose ever
again feels it acceptable to execute
a child on the street.
Dr. Julianne Malveaux is the
President of Bennett College.