Trayvon Martin; Courtesy of his family.
Trayvon Martin and the Irony of American Justice, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
I have seen nothing within the actual case presented by the prosecution that would allow for a stable and unvacillating belief that George Zimmerman was guilty.
That conclusion should not offer you security or comfort. It should not leave you secure in the wisdom of our laws. On the contrary, it should greatly trouble you. But if you are simply focusing on what happened in the court-room, then you have been head-faked by history and bought into a idea of fairness which can not possibly exist.
Trayvon, by David Simon, The Audacity of Despair blog
You can stand your ground if you’re white, and you can use a gun to do it. But if you stand your ground with your fists and you’re black, you’re dead.
George Zimmerman: Not Guilty, Blood on the Leaves, by Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker blog
The decision the six jurors reached on Saturday evening will inspire anger, frustration, and despair, but little surprise, and this is the most deeply saddening aspect of the entire affair. From the outset— throughout the forty-four days it took for there to be an arrest, and then in the sixteen months it took to for the case to come to trial—there was a nagging suspicion that it would culminate in disappointment. Call this historical profiling.
Why the Zimmerman Jury Failed Us, by Lawrence D. Bobo The Root
I might not feel so bitter if the U.S. Supreme Court had not just gutted the Voting Rights Act. I might not feel so bitter if the same court had not just effectively established, in my estimation, an unattainable standard for constitutionally permissible consideration of race in pursuit of diversity in admission to colleges and universities. Indeed, I might not feel so bitter if stop and frisk was not an accepted practice in arguably the most tolerant city in America. But all of these things are true. And it sickens me.
Aggravating me almost as much is the lack of any organized, focused response to all these conditions from within the African-American community. To be sure, this is not the place or time for another critique of black leadership or the black middle class.
Law and Justice and George Zimmerman, by Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic
What the verdict says, to the astonishment of tens of millions of us, is that you can go looking for trouble in Florida, with a gun and a great deal of racial bias, and you can find that trouble, and you can act upon that trouble in a way that leaves a young man dead, and none of it guarantees that you will be convicted of a crime. But this curious result says as much about Florida’s judicial and legislative sensibilities as it does about Zimmerman’s conduct that night. This verdict would not have occurred in every state. It might not even have occurred in any other state. But it occurred here, a tragic confluence that leaves a young man’s untimely death unrequited under state law. Don’t like it? Lobby to change Florida’s laws.
George Zimmerman Trial Expands Deep Divide, by Joe Scarborough, Politico
The Zimmerman verdict showed just how politicized every speck of American life has become for a hyper-partisan political class that has little in common with most Americans. In fact, they are probably why most Americans hate politics.
If I Could Have a White Daughter Instead of a Black Son, by Khadijah Costley White, Role ReBoot blog
If I could have a white daughter instead of a black son, I think I’d worry less. I wouldn’t read all the research that shows me the countless ways that world could so easily strike down a being I’m still not brave enough to conceive. I’d read more novels and less news. I’d bake. I wouldn’t be so afraid. I’d definitely be less angry. I wouldn’t spend so much time thinking about my life and wondering how to explain to my own child, the one I carried in my womb, why some white kid at the playground called him “nigger” or African-monkey-booty-scratcher or the teacher said his work was too good to be his or some girl he liked said he was too dark or—God help me—what to do when a white man chases you in the rain.
Glad My Mom Gave Me the Realness From a Young Age, by Wesley Hall, Facebook
wow, I get it now. Every black kid has that moment where he has to decide to accept the armor that his parents present to him to get through life as an American black male, or walk around naked. And the crazy part is, it’s probably something most people outside of the black community never see. I can remember my mom talking to me over and over and over again about what to do and who to call if I was ever picked up by a police officer. She made sure I knew that I needed to declare that I was exercising my Miranda rights rather simply evoke them without notice. …
And I say that to say that as scary as people think black males are, black males are conditioned to be ten times more afraid of everyone else. We’re conditioned to be afraid of goin to certain parts of the country, afraid of people with certain political view, afraid of police officers, and sometimes even afraid of other black and latino males. The most sickening thing about this whole trial has been the deliberate campaign to rob Trayvon of his right to be afraid. I know I would have been.