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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2013)
Opinion Criminal Injustice System Failed Trayvon “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor B RUCE P OINSETTE Reporter D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com W atching television Satur- day night, I sat in stunned silence as the jury returned its not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in connec- tion with the shooting death of 17- year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. Then, I was jolted by a comment made by Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda: “… We live in a great country that has a great criminal justice system. It is not perfect but it is the best in the world and we respect the jury’s verdict.” In what country does de la Rion- da live? Surely, he couldn’t be referring to the United States. Granted, making the prosecutor prove his or her case against a defendant is a great idea. So is the notion of being presumed innocent until proven guilty. But when it comes to African Americans, this is by no stretch of the imagination “a great criminal justice system.” I don’t say this out of any bitter- ness over the failure of the jurors to convict Zimmerman for mur- dering Trayvon Martin. Yes, I thought Zimmerman was guilty of murder or, at the least, manslaugh- ter. But as much as it pains me, I must also acknowledge that the state of Florida did a poor job prosecuting Zimmerman. Trayvon’s death is a cold reminder that the Black homicide rate is more than six times that of Whites. According to 2010 FBI statistics analyzed by the Violence Policy Center, the homicide rate for Black victims was 16.32 per 100,000, compared to a rate of 2.66 per 100,000 for Whites. For Black women, the rate was 4.28 per 100,000, compared to 1.48 per 100,000 for White females. And African-American men were homicide victims at a rate of 29.50 per 100,000, com- T HE C URRY R EPORT George E. Curry pared to 7.08 per 100,000 for White males. “America faces a continuing epi- demic of homicide among young black males,” according to the introduction to a Violence Policy Center report titled, “Black Homi- cide in the United States: An About People of Color and Crimi- nal Justice in the United States.” Among the facts: • People of color make up about 30 percent of the U.S. population, but 60 percent of those impris- oned. • Once convicted, Black offend- ers receive sentences that 10 per- cent longer than White offenders for the same crimes. In addition, Blacks are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than White defendants and 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison. • Although African-Americans comprise 14 percent of regular drug users, they are 37 percent of I see those six ladies in the jury ... I submit that if they were armed, they would have shot Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did. —Geraldo Rivera Analysis of 2010 Homicide Data.” The report, published in January, continued, “The devastation homi- cide inflicts on black teens and adults is a national crisis, yet it is all too often ignored outside of affected communities.” And what happens when crimi- nal cases move through America’s “great criminal justice system?” Richard Pryor used to joke that criminal justice in the U.S. means “just us.” Although the comedian usually evoked a laugh – unlike Zimmerman lawyer’s knock- knock joke – this is no laughing matter. American Progress, the Wash- ington, D.C.-based think tank, col- lected some interesting statistics and published an article titled, “The Top 10 Most Startling Facts those arrested for drug offenses. • Although Black juveniles are approximately 16 percent of the youth population, 37 percent of their cases are moved to criminal court and 58 percent of African- American youth are sent to adult prisons. • Blacks are twice as likely to be arrested during a traffic stop than Whites and four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with police. News coverage and commentary on the Zimmerman trail demon- strated the toxic state of race rela- tions in the U.S., despite having a Black president in the White House. Geraldo Rivera said on Fox News Friday, “I see those six ladies in the jury putting them- selves on that rainy night, in that housing complex that has just been burglarized by three or four different groups of black young- sters from the adjacent communi- ty. So it’s a dark night, a 6-foot-2-inch hoodie-wearing stranger is in the immediate hous- ing complex. How would the ladies of that jury have reacted? I submit that if they were armed, they would have shot Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did. This is self- defense.” This is the same Geraldo Rivera who said last March, “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman.” Fox News even invited Mark Furman, the former detective for the Los Angeles Police Depart- ment, to discuss the role of race in jury selection for Zimmerman’s trial. Lawyers for O.J. Simpson presented evidence that Furman had used the n-word more than 40 times over a 10-year period. Yet, Furman, who pled no contest to perjury charges and sentenced to three years of probation, appeared on Fox News’ “America Live” to talk about race. When Zimmerman earlier selected Fox News as the only net- work he would grant an interview to, he was right at home. George E. Curry, former editor- in-chief of Emerge magazine, is editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Associa- tion News Service (NNPA.) He is a keynote speaker, moderator, and media coach. Curry can be reached through his Web site, www.georgecurry.com. You can also follow him at www.twitter.com/currygeorge and George E. Curry Fan Page on Facebook. Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos What do locals think about the Trayvon Martin trial? Find out on The Skanner News YouTube channel either solicited or unsolicited. © 2012 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. Letters to the Editor To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. The Portland Rally for Trayvon Martin: Anger, Grief, Compassion, Love • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Sunday's Rally in support of Jus- tice for Trayvon Martin was an outpouring of anger, grief, frustra- tion, sadness, compassion and love. People from Portland com- munities shared thoughts, feelings and experiences with an interra- cial, intergenerational, interethnic, crowd of hundreds of people including many members of the Page 4 The Portland Skanner July 17, 2012 GLBT community. Sen. Avel Gordly had a tremen- dous effect on us. She inspired us, she led us, she taught us, she moved us as she laid another brick in the foundation of love needed to build our Beloved Community. She invited young black men in the audience to come stand with her and her son on the stage as she spoke. In doing so, Sen. Gordly helped humanize these young men. She forced us to surrender our tenden- cy to abstract the lives of these human beings into some vaguely formed (mostly media driven) image of young black maleness. She asked us to express our con- cern and love for them by asking us to say aloud to them “Your life is important to me.” We did. She then asked audience members to look at one another and express the same caring, the same affirma- tion for the lives of one another by saying: “Your life is important to me.” We did. She challenged us to stop pass- ing one another by without acknowledging each other, as though we had no connection. In doing so she helped us consider how our failure to connect under- lies our tendency to depersonalize each other and thereby fail to lis- ten to each other. Several speakers gave us ideas on actions or how to get organized or involved in groups that will help make the changes we want to see, and we are grateful. Many of us will find our way into an organ- ization or program or public action. Sen. Gordly gave us a somewhat different challenge. She chal- lenged us to start making change immediately, right there at the rally. Her challenge pointed out that while we need organizations, programs or public actions to effect change, some of the most significant changes we have to make are in our own hearts. We must look into our hearts to find what we might need to explore, eliminate, rearrange or create as we take the next steps toward building Beloved Community. Thank you Sen. Gordly. Kathleen Saadat Portland
