"You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.
[...]
We need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our African-American boys? And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?"
Some other important readings:
Trudy at Gradient Lair: Racism Hurts
When I heard those words “not guilty" as I watched the verdict live, I felt like I was kicked in the chest, the way I felt at the moment that I found out my mother has passed away 12 years ago. If the latter was a 10 in terms of emotional pain, the verdict was an 8. Truly. How? Because as I’ve mentioned before, I lost a relative to racist violence. Further, I could think of Sybrina Fulton and visualize so many Black mothers that I know and ones that I do not. Everything about the case is…familiar. Painfully.
Racism hurts. It doesn’t just anger. It doesn’t just disgust. It doesn’t just disenfranchise. It hurts. It oppresses. It kills.
G.D. Demby at PostBourgie: Black Violence and Concern Fatigue
To assert that black people simply shrug off the murders of their sons and daughters and cousins and best friends, that folks simply shake their heads and keep it moving is to assert that black people are constitutionally incapable of grief and outrage. It’s to assert, sideways, that black people aren’t fully human.
Jamelle Bouie at The American Prospect: Is 'Justice for Trayvon' even possible?
It’s not unreasonable to demand the system affirm the value of black lives. But I don’t think it’s equipped to handle the request. The United States was built on hatred and disdain for black bodies and black experiences. It was codified in our Constitution, promoted by generations of our leaders, and turned into public policy.
Aphra Behn at Shakesville: This Is Not a Post About Trayvon Martin
It’s a post about Emmett Till, a Black teenager who went to the store for some candy and unknowingly transgressed a white rule about Black men’s behavior. For that, vigilantes murdered him. When his grieving mother demanded justice, whites rallied around the murderers they had previously denounced. No one was ever convicted of his murder or as an accessory. Despite the fact that the killers of a Black boy walked free, newspapers focused on the anger of the Black community and their dangerous potential for retaliatory violence.
But of course that was all back in the Bad Old Days, and it was terrible, and we can rest easy that things aren’t like that anymore. So this definitely has nothing to do with Trayvon Martin.
Finally, an action item from Ana Mardoll at Shakesville: Boycott ALEC corporations
ALEC is the corporate-funded right-wing juggernaut behind 'Stand Your Ground' laws like the one in Florida, as well as tons of other harmful legislation around the country. Ana's created a great mobile resource that can help you keep an eye out for known ALEC supporters while you're shopping.
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