Trayvon Tragedy/Travesty: Clifton E. Graves, Jr.
Open Season on Black Males
“Why had the very legal process that had been devised to protect the rights of the individual…against the whim of the majority…(now once more)… been employed so malevolently against Blacks?”
Federal Judge A. Leon Higginbotham
In the Matter of Color (1978)
“…the fact that Zimmerman could follow, shoot and kill an innocent Black male… and get away with it, makes me scared to step out of the house…”
Justin Francis, 17
African American male/New York
In the past month, we have witnessed the U.S. judicial system put Affirmative Action on life support, eviscerate the Voting Rights Act, and now render the Trayvon Travesty…
George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, and walked. A Justice Department Civil Rights lawsuit may be pending, as well as Martin family civil litigation. But for the moment, Zimmerman is literally getting away with murder. Yes, the Prosecution’s (State of Florida) case was weak and cumbersome. Yes, the jury was imbalanced. Yes, the judge should have allowed the issue of “racial profiling” to be entered and considered. Yet, it is a shameful fact that there are thousands of Black and Brown men (and women) languishing in the prisons across this country, convicted on far LESS “evidence” than was presented in that Sanford, Florida courtroom.
Yet, as horrendous as this miscarriage of justice is to Americans of all hues, no race feels the sting, the pain, the anguish and anger as deeply as the African American community.
For those of us who know American History are well aware that this nation’s past (and present) are replete with countless incidents of miscarried – or perhaps more aptly stated- aborted justice –especially when it comes to African American males.
From the untold numbers of lynchings, burnings and shootings of law-abiding Black men by white terrorist/vigilantes over three centuries; to the senseless massacres at Rosewood, Florida and Tulsa, Oklahoma “(Black Wall Street”);from the murders of Emmitt Till, Medger Evers, James Chaney, Rev. George Lee (also of Florida),; to those of Michael Griffith, Amodou Diallo, Sean Bell, Malik Jones, and Oscar Grant (subject of the soon to be released film “Fruitvale Station”), the American flag and American hands are drenched in the blood of Black men. ( And for the record, neither time nor space will allow me to list the atrocities visited upon our Native Americans, Asian and Latino brethren, by those same forces. )
Zimmerman may indeed not be a racist, but like so many he has been socialized and brainwashed into stereotyping young Black males as thugs or gangsters.;justifying the homicide.
However, as disturbing and outrageous this Trayvon Travesty is to most of us, what should be at least as equally disturbing and outrageous is the following: since Trayvon’s death on February 26, 2012, in the city of Chicago alone there have been over 500 homicides: Black on Black, Brown on Brown(Latino), Trayvon on Trayvon.
Then, we factor in the Black on Black/ Brown on Brown genocidal madness in cities like Atlanta, St. Louis, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C, Newark, Boston,Oakland, Charlotte, Miami, Hartford, Bridgeport and yes, New Haven, those numbers soar into the thousands; the majority of the victims between 17-30 years of age.
Nearly 25 years ago, Sociologist and Connecticut native, Dr. Jewell Taylor Gibbs predicted that a “new morbidity” was creeping into the psyche and culture of African American males; a lack of self-respect..a lack of respect for life…a fatalistic hopelessness..attributable to several factors.. This clearly has become manifest in our communities and requires prioritized attention ,collective action and wholistic solutions.
But , meanwhile,, between internecine gun violence, the ever-present threat of law-enforcement harassment and brutality, and now with the TrayvonTravesty – a re-emergence arguably of American style racist vigilantism/terrorism, it is crystal clear that it is OPEN SEASON on African American males. Let me make this perfectly clear; the overwhelming majority of African American (and Latino) youth are ambitious,God –fearing, law abiding, sometimes precocious young men, trying their best to navigate the racial, cultural and class obstacles in this country. A small percentage has been socialized into becoming predators; most have become the prey. It is our responsibility to purge the predators and protect the prey.
So, in 2013 with an African American occupying the White House,sadly, like many African Americans and other persons of color, I fear for the safety of my 23 year old son; my 26 year old nephew; the sons, grandsons,nephews,cousins, of my family, extended family members and friends.
But, rather than be fearful, let us be fearless and re-commit ourselves to “being the change we seek.’ Let us challenge the forces, the culture, the individuals and institutions responsible for this horrific fratricide and sinister genocide gripping our communities.
Fredrick Douglass admonished us over 160 years ago: “ Power concedes without a demand; it never has and it never will; If there is no struggle, there will be no progress…” A century later Rev. Jesse Jackson stated it more succinctly: No one can save us, for us,or FROM us, BUT US…. Amen.
Clifton E. Graves, Jr.
Attorney/Consultant...Adjunct,Gateway Community College; 203-507-0582….email: cgraves@amistadamerica.org
Adjunct Professor Gateway Community College
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