I've been waiting for days to write this post, thinking and rethinking my thoughts on such a sad, senseless matter. Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old black male with his whole future ahead of him. A young, happy man just beginning to live his life. On a trip to the store for his brother, his life ended at the hands of an overzealous, trigger happy "neighborhood watch" captain. It has recently come to light that the shooter, George Zimmerman, was not registered on any of the national neighborhood watch lists, which makes this crime even more despicable. What would cause a grown man to shoot down an innocent child in the street after being told not to pursue him?? Why have police officers chosen to turn a blind eye to the public outrage for such a brutal killing? Sadly, we already know the answers to the above questions. It was his race. His "suspicious" demeanor. Who knew a wearing a hoody and carrying skittles and a sweet tea home to your brother categorized a person as suspicious? If that's the case, I'm sure many of us, myself included, should have been gunned down long ago after a store run. What's worse, is that Zimmerman is trying to claim self defense, even though he pursued Trayvon, who was just trying to make his way home. In Florida, there is a law called the Stand Your Ground Law. Under this law, Florida residents can use lethal force against an attacker if they feel they are being threatened regardless of where they are. However, Florida lawmakers have found that he is unprotected by this law, since he pursued Trayvon. The question is now what? Zimmerman has gone missing, the local police feel they have no evidence that Zimmerman's claim of self defense, and have washed their hands of it. How many more times will we be in this situation? A mother should never have to bury her child. Take a moment and step outside yourself and imagine being 17 year old Trayvon. Walking up the street being followed by a man you don't know, being overpowered by someone over 100 pounds heavier than yourself, and crying out for help. Dying in the street with a stranger hovering over you with hate in his eyes. We CANNOT let this continue! Our young black men are being targeted, readers. They are being taken out of this world for reasons we don't understand. Because they look suspicious. Because they are being stereotyped. It's time to end it!! We need to come together and take a stand against this racism, since no one will do it for us. To start, please go to change.org and sign the petition to bring this cold hearted killer to justice. So far, 919, 519 signatures have been gathered out of the 1,000,000 needed to complete the online petition, so sign and spread the word! Lastly, we need to pray over our black men, both young and old, that God will keep them close and safe in a world where nothing has changed in the decades since our grandparents, and for some of us, parents, we targeted for the color of their skin. Pray for our leaders, that they will use their power they have to right a serious injustice against an innocent young man. I pray his soul is with God, and pray that we can bring him some peace in trying to get Zimmerman to pay for his impulsive decision to take an innocent life. Take a moment to further the cause. Trayvon is my nephew, your son, cousins, uncles. Trayvon, we support you, and your life was not taken in vain. Sleep well, sweet angel. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers.
