Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Our Human Cry For Justice

martinThe shocking comments made by the defense attorney for Zimmerman is exactly the problem I have with this case - white privilege. The attorney made a statement that was as ridicules as, in my view, the verdict: “If George Zimmerman Were Black He Never Would've Been Charged With A Crime.” With this insane theory I have to say the criminal justice system is indeed criminal!!!

Not too long ago, a black person’s “place” was in the field or in the back of the bus. If a black man was found “out of his place,” he could be jailed or lynched. In Martin’s day — in our day — a black person’s “place” is in the ghetto. If he is found “out of his place,” he will be treated with suspicion, frisked, arrested — or in this case DEATH and the murder is found NOT GUILTY.

The notion of a Post Racial society is a fallacy that is much bigger than the elephant in the room. African Americans have endured suffering beyond biblical proportions and in many cases sanctioned by the American jurisprudence that leads us to today where the continued struggle of the engrained concept of privilege and supremacy is the cornerstone of the nation’s justice system. Make no mistake the Zimmerman case was more about institutional racism than justice.

We know there have been many injustices in American history. So much so that a war was fought over race. We witnessed martyrs and black people killed for nothing from Emmitt Till to Medgar Evers to James Byrd to Dr. King – all murdered. This is a moment in time where people of color must take a position to say “the struggle must continue” and we must speak at full volume in numbers to force change.

Regardless of how much we are held down, it is our responsibility to find a way to get up, even if the system is designed to protect the system. The great Bob Marley reminded us to “Stand-up – Stand-up for your rights”. You use social media for all sorts of reasons. Now is the time to use it for a cause to change the world.

Trayvon we know justice was denied. I am so sorry that this happened to you. I am so sorry that America did not protect you. I am so sorry that you lived in a country that did not value your life. The racist justice system has failed you and us once again. Your legacy is not dead and as you look down upon us, and know we got your back!!! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…


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