Since George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin were the only two people present on the night in 2012 when Martin died from a gunshot fired by Zimmerman, they were the only two people to know what transpired. The only story we have is that of Zimmerman. This story may pass as a true story for some, but it won’t satisfy those of us who support #BlackLivesMatter.
The Zimmerman-Martin case moved another step toward closure Tuesday when the Justice Department dropped its effort to bring civil rights charges against Zimmerman for killing the 17-year-old unarmed Martin in Sanford, Florida. The legal arguments may have come to an end, but the social argument, advanced under #BlackLivesMatter, will continue in Florida and other parts of the country.
The shooting occurred at night after Martin bought candy at a convenience store. No crime there. Martin wore a hoodie that obscured part of this face. No crime there. Martin was walking to his home when the “crime,” if there was one, took place.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in the gated community where Martin was staying, confronted the high school student. The brief confrontation ended with Martin dead. Zimmerman later testified he feared for his life when it appeared Martin would pull a weapon on him. A Florida court found it a case of self-defense. The verdict outraged African American communities across the country.
Since Martin’s death, dozens of unarmed youth and men of color have been shot over various types of incidents, including cigarette theft and selling untaxed cigarettes, by white police officers across the country. Oscar Grant III, subject of the film “Fruitvale Station,” was shot in the back as he was face down on a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland, California. The BART officer involved in the shooting testified he intended only to tase the young father, but ended up serving time for involuntary manslaughter. Digital evidence played an important role in the Grant case as it did on more recent cases.
The fact that the Justice Department, under Attorney General Eric Holder, entered the Grant case may have ended the case quicker than California could have resolved it, and with less rioting and violence. The Justice Department stayed with the Martin case far longer than it did with the Grant case. Holder called the Martin case “a devastating tragedy.” President Obama also expressed shock over the killing saying, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Like the result or not, the Zimmerman-Martin case is now over. Martin is dead; Zimmerman is free, along with, supposedly, his conscience. Florida acquitted Zimmerman in 2013.
The case made by African Americans that the law enforcement system is biased against them is getting better organized and stronger just as patrons at the Stonewall Inn fought back police abuse in 1969. I was in New York for Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network march for 18-year-old Michael Brown, unarmed victim of the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, the Staten Island victim tragically choked to death by police. Rev. Sharpton held a similar march to the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.
The New York march gave rise to the slogan “Dead Cops Now!” At the D.C. march, younger African American activists publicly challenged Rev. Sharpton’s leadership. Now that Holder has cleared Zimmerman of all charges, I suspect young black activists will be shouting him down at future gatherings of dead men of color. Sadly, I feel safe in saying there will be future killings and future gatherings.
Reportedly Zimmerman and family are pursuing a contract for a reality TV show. What would they call the show? The Remorseful Zimmermans? Why Won’t Blacks Leave Us Alone? George is Innocent Already?
While I pray a Zimmerman reality TV show never makes it to cable, the wrath of all people over Trayvon Martin’s killing should be directed to whichever cable station offers the Zimmerman clan a broadcast home.
Human Rights Advocate Jim Patterson is a writer, speaker, and lifelong diplomat for dignity for all people. In a remarkable life spanning the civil rights movement to today’s human rights struggles, he stands as a voice for the voiceless. A prolific writer, he documents history’s wrongs and the struggle for dignity to provide a roadmap to a more humane future. Learn more at www.HumanRightsIssues.com
