February 2012 was a depressing and angering Black History Month. Any other time I would cynically point out the fact that African-American achievements and lineage are celebrated and recognized during the shortest month of the year. In addition, I might have joked about us "luckily gaining" an extra day because of the leap year, but the ending of January silenced my chuckles: No "good fortune" was to come this month because of the 29th.
Don (Cornelius) left us on the first.
Whitney (Houston) was taken three days before Valentine's Day.
And Trayvon (Martin) was murdered on the twenty-six.
While I was saddened by Don's abrupt departure, I resigned myself to the fact that it was of Don's choosing to free himself.
And although I was, and still am, heartbroken about Whitney, I can smile knowing that the Lord didn't want her to hurt anymore (more on The Voice later...), and took one of His children home.
Yet I am downright mad about the killing of Trayvon, an innocent young man whose life was taken from him because he was WB.
While Black.
You see, it doesn't matter whether you're driving, swimming, singing, running. Or any other verb you can think of. The painful and idiotically sad fact is if you're darker than a brown paper bag, you are seen as a threat to society and could/will be subjected to unwarranted harassment, unconstitutional searches and unprovoked violence.
What about our Bill of Rights? What about the 14th, 15th, and 16th Amendments? What about proper procedure?
How about innocent until proven guilty?
In Trayvon's case, none of those precious American liberties were recognized, and now this seventeen year old is gone.
George Zimmerman, whom admitted to the unconscionable killing, is still free at large and allowed to exercise his American rights?!
WTF?!
Yeah, I said WHAT THE F*CK, because I smell BULLSH*T and I'm angry! It bothers me to my C-O-R-E because I know, beyond a shadow of a DOUBT, that if Zimmerman were the boy, and Trayvon was the rent-a-cop:
- There would be no covering the fact that the young man ONLY had a bag of Skittles, a can of Arizona Ice Tea and some change on his person.
- There would be no delayed contact to the parents in regards to identifying their son.
- It would be unnecessary to subpoena 911 records, for the calls would've been released expeditiously.
- We wouldn't have to "PRESS the PRESS" for coverage; we would be INUNDATED with updates regarding the case.
- There would be no need to tamper with evidence or give erroneous witness statements.
Why?
I think you already know. Just in case you don't, it's called racism, and it's one of the ugliest and sickest behaviors mankind practices. (Not to mention the stupidest, but I digress.) Technology and education are two vital keys to dismantling this abhorrent thinking, and that's why I'm thankful for them both.
It's because of the Internet that I first heard of this case. A few intelligent Black bloggers, whom, unlike most, discuss more than gossip and swag, shined their lights on the situation before any major media reported it. (Their blogs can be found here and here.
True story!
Then people in the Sanford community stood up and protested this injustice, the outcry of wrongdoing so great that it spread like a conflagration! Across the country! And here we are, awaiting a grand jury, FBI probe, and the corrected and rightful sentence to follow.
It shouldn't have come to this. Trayvon should still be alive...
I can't help but think of the tragic parallels to Edmund Perry.
Edmund and Trayvon were both seventeen, gunned down by white men of law enforcement, both claiming self-defense. Edmund was in NY, the year of 1985. And Trayvon was in FL, and the year is 2012.
AFTER TWENTY SEVEN YEARS, SOME THINGS DON'T CHANGE!
Which means there's more work to be done! Let's do what must be done! Please do not let Edmund's, Trayvon's or the countless overlooked victims of While Black be forgotten!
"The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them."
- Lois McMaster Bujold
