Equality and Justice for All?

“Racism is still alive, they just concealing it” – Kanye West (Never let me down)

There is no doubt that there still exists a huge racial disparity between blacks and whites in all aspects of life in the U.S. Take a look at any social issue and you will find that Blacks are being handed the short end of the stick. The Zimmerman not guilty verdict just further highlights why African Americans continue to be disenfranchised with America's criminal justice system.

On the Zimmerman/Martin case, I personally had no doubt that George Zimmerman was going to walk scott free. The reason is simple; the State of Florida initially had no appetite to investigate or try George Zimmerman for murdering the unarmed Trayvon Martin. When the case was first brought in front of the Sanford police, the police chief deemed it appropriate to tell the parents of Trayvon Martin that there was no “probable cause” to charge George Zimmerman for killing their son.  Right off the bat, the police Chief had pre-determined that George Zimmerman, who followed Trayvon Martin, accosted, and then shot him to death, was innocent.

Reasonable Americans with the help of civil rights groups however refused to accept the Police Chief’s excuse and rallied to get millions of signatures and Governor Rick Scott was petitioned to try the case.  Under immense pressure, the governor had no choice and appointed a “special prosecutor” to investigate & take the case to court.

The Trial

Watching the court proceedings in the last month has been painful.  The prosecutors were just not good enough to prove that George Zimmerman was guilty beyond reasonable doubt.  In fact, even as a layman, I found myself cringing at the many missed opportunities the prosecutors had to challenge Zimmerman Lawyers.  Every time the defense got up, it felt like Trayvon Martin and not George Zimmerman was on trial, while the incompetent prosecutors just sat there and played defense the entire time. If one did not have any background of the case, you’d think Trayvon Martin was being tried for battery and aggravated assault.

Given the prosecution’s performance, there was only one possible outcome – a not guilty verdict.

“Fired up? Ready to go?”

Anyway, all hope is not lost because from every bad experience comes an opportune moment to make things right. America with all its freedoms has still not been saved from racism. The time has come for us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, stop complaining and organize to mount a strong campaign to again fight these new Jim Crow laws; state by state.  Cases such as the Trayvon Martin case should be the basis on which we get involved in politics.

We must seek to change these unjust public policies that are hindering the progress of our people by participating in local and state elections. The leaders and activists within our community must continue to educate our people that the politics that affect them the most are the ones that are being decided in state and local elections.  These are the jurisdictions where the Stand Your Ground laws (now in 21 states) are being made.

Our community leaders must continue to use these moments of injustices to fuel the energies of our people and help us organize to take on these laws head on.  We must put forth the same energy, dedication and focus we showcased when we wanted to elect Obama. Unfortunately for us, the current POTUS speaks for the people but continues to serve the powerful.

To our advantage, the demographics in the U.S are changing fast in the favor of minorities.  The U.S census bureau is forecasting that within a generation (by 2043), whites will become a minority in the U.S.  And this revelation is scaring the hell out of those who favor the new Jim Crow laws, and they will continue to pursue such laws in order to protect the upper hand they are currently holding against Blacks and Hispanics. We must therefore get organized and act fast in order to swing the changing demographics in our favor.

Anyway, before anything, we ourselves must find self-worth to change our circumstances. If we want to break this vicious cycle of injustice against Blacks in America, We must first and foremost educate our people to do better. It is no longer acceptable that we constantly remain enraged when a white man shoots a black man, but then turn a blind eye when our brothers go around the city of Baltimore and shoot 40 people (killing 16) in one single week.

We owe it to ourselves to show the same disgust (as we’ve done in the TM/GZ case) whenever a black man is unjustly killed, regardless of who the killer is.

We must and can do better!