“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”
-Martin Luther King Jr., August 28, 1963
To the Jury of the George Zimmerman Trial:
I usually don’t second-guess juries. I believed in the justice system, although imperfect, provided trial by a jury consisting of peers, who, when provided evidence presented by both the prosecutor and defense, came to a decision regarding the accused’s innocence or guilt. I certainly have been heartbroken about some verdicts, but rarely questioned a jury’s verdict.
The acquittal of O.J. Simpson didn’t invoke feelings of jury incompetence, and although I certainly believed that Simpson was guilty, I viewed Simpson’s acquittal a direct result of prosecutorial incompetence. Mark Furman, the prosecutor’s star witness, would not have been believed by even the most naïve, gullible individual. Much rested on his testimony and when it was uncovered the he was a racist, a liar and immensely untrustworthy, anything out of Mark Furman’s mouth was questionable.
This verdict has made me so incredibly angry. With anger, I feel a deep sense of hopelessness and shame. Upholding the “Stand Your Ground” law, where it is legal for an armed white man to follow a black, unarmed teenager solely because he feels “he is up to no good”, and shooting him dead on the streets, you, the jury, have effectively killed a dream. I think of Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream, standing at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 speaking to 210,000 Americans.
“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”
You could have delivered a clear message to America that we no longer tolerate young, black American males shot down in the streets while walking back from the convenience store. You could have delivered a message that we have come a long way from the days where a black life was weighed less than that of a white life. You could have been courageous and held a far from stellar citizen accountable for taking the life of a young black man for the sole trespass of walking down the street in the rain. You had a responsibility, you were to seek justice. Did you fail to remember we are a nation "indivisible with liberty and justice for all"?
The undisputed facts of case proved Mr. Zimmerman to be guilty of manslaughter of at least manslaugter. Mr. Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin after being explicitly told not to. Mr. Zimmerman had a loaded gun in his possession. Mr. Zimmerman lied in either his police statement or in his 911 call. Inconsistencies can certainly be expected when an individual finds himself in a high stress situation. The 911 call and first police statement aren’t even close. One of the two narratives, is a work of fiction. All flowed from the actions of a white man who patrolled the neighbourhood with a handgun culminating in the death of Trayvon Martin.
While Melissa Alexander sits in jail for the next 20 years, leaving behind a eleven year old twins and a toddler, for firing a warning shot when she felt threatened by her estranged husband whom had a restraining order against. Her attempt to invoke a “stand you ground” defense was denied by the judge. It is true that Ms. Alexander went to her car to retrieve her gun, but is a 20-year sentence appropriate? Would a white woman in similar circumstances have faced the same fate? Ms. Alexander is African American and has a Master’s degree. Where is justice served by locking up a mother of three for a good portion of her life?
Fast forward, armed George Zimmerman (white) followed an unarmed, African American teenager, Trayvon Martin. In his 911 call, Zimmerman told the dispatcher “We’ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood and there’s a real suspicious guy,” …”This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something,”… It’s raining and he’s just walking around looking about”.
Zimmerman stated, “These assholes. They always get away”. George informed the dispatcher Martin was running. The police explicitly instructed George Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon Martin. When the police arrive, Martin lay dead on the ground and George Zimmerman is walking around the body.
The known, undisputed facts of the Trayvon Martin case would have convinced an objective juror of Zimmerman’s guilt of at least the charge of manslaughter. To acquit a “wannabe” cop who shot an unarmed teenager is dereliction of your judicial duties. Zimmerman’s defense invoked the controversial “Stand Your Ground” legislation, yet who actually was standing their ground? Zimmerman, after being told to NOT follow the unarmed, black teenager continued to do so. Zimmerman felt the “suspect” (see Zimmerman’s written statement) was acting suspiciously. Since when does one walking in the rain constitute an act of suspicion? If Zimmerman had encountered a white male walking in the rain would his “highly trained” suspicion meter have kicked in?
According to Zimmerman, Martin approached and attacked him. This was after he stated that Trayvon had fled and had been instructed by the police not to follow. If we are willing to take Zimmerrman’s narrative at face value (which is doubtable), and Trayvon Martin confronted him leading to an altercation, wasn’t Trayvon Martin just standing his ground? Why is a black teenager like Trayvon Martin’s fear of being followed by a white, “creepy” man dismissed and George Zimmerman’s fear for his life accepted and validated. It is much more plausible and understandable for one to imagine a black teenager’s fear walking in an unfamiliar area followed by a white, older man “wannabe” cop than to accept Zimmerman’s claimed fear for his life.
I think that you all failed miserably in your duties. Your verdict has made it very, very clear that the “Stand Your Group” law is only available to white men who seek confrontation with African American teenagers. Let’s make no mistake. Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin because he felt young black men walking around are suspicious. I am certain, beyond any doubt, that if Trayvon Martin was a white, young man, Zimmerman would not have followed him, the chain reaction that exploded into the death of yet, another black young man.. Zimmerman’s initial interest in Trayvon Martin was piqued solely because Trayvon Martin was an African American, young man and he equated African American, young men as those were “up to no good”. This is racial profiling in its barest, bigoted form.
You have given license for white men to shoot down African American males and claim self defense. Sure, there is enough blame to go around. Rather than showing courage and being an example of a justice system that works, you bowed to your preconceptions, your narrow mindedness and yes, your bigotry.
You have set back any ground gained by the civil rights movement and set us back to 1950 America white Americans refer to it as a golden, simpler time while black America was oppressed, denied equality and denied justice. It seems nothing fundamentally has changed.