I followed the televised Florida court case of the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman. I did this beginning with the selection of six jurors, five whom I later realized were moms, five who were Caucasians and one who was of "an unknown minority." They were trying Zimmerman for taking your life over a year ago when you were walking into a gated community one evening, to visit your dad. You were barely 17 years old when you were shot in the heart and your life was snuffed out. Your killer claimed self-defense, even claiming that you brutally attacked him and left him with no option but to defend himself from your vicious attack. Your killer even claimed that you made a weapon of the concrete sidewalk and used it to bash his head, over and over and over. When I learned of the demographic of the six jurors, I did not know what to think. You were Black and most of them were Caucasian; it is unclear what minority the sixth juror was. I know that there are many people who declare that the case against your killer had nothing to do with race. The Judge in the second-degree murder case against your killer would not permit any racial debate to enter into the trial. That meant that she ruled against the many calls your killer made to the authorities that involved Black people, especially teens like you. Your killer was what we often call "a wanna-be cop" who was zealous about fighting crime in his gated community. There is nothing wrong with wanting to fight crime and being the eyes and ears for his law enforcement (LE). But when this person seemed to focus his suspicions on the Black community and went so far as to end your life that rainy evening, I question his motives and especially his attitude toward the Black community.
The case against your killer would never even have led to him being arrested for his actions that rainy night, had some 2,500,000 plus of us had not signed a Change.org petition. Your killer would never have been placed in police custody had many individuals not staged peaceful protests calling for your killer to face charges for ending your life that rainy night. The recent trial would never had happened! The trial? Your killer sat in there, day after day, looking smug and sure that he would be set free. I saw your parents in the front row and I saw them and your older brother when each of them was called to testify. I saw their amazing grace, strength, dignity and courage throughout the entire trial. This spoke much about what kind of family you came from and what kind of kid you very possibly were. We saw you, in court and certainly in the media, maligned as a violent "thug" and a "scary kid." In the media, those of us who use social networks read articles where you were portrayed as a troubled teenager who used drugs, was aggressive and a "gang-wanna-be." Articles surfaced that you were trying to buy a firearm. An app was created called "Angry Trayvon" that was a game. So many of us angrily reported this app that it was recalled. Your killer's supporters went to great lengths to make sure that we saw you in the worst light possible. Even if there is some truth to these rumors that have circulated about you, you were a teenager and a victim. Your killer was the adult and the "neighborhood watch co-ordinator" who should have known better.
It is disheartening how the case against your killer has so bitterly divided a nation and led to so many ill feelings and expressions of hate and rage. This divide has been roughly along racial and political lines. People who have supported your killer claim that the case against your killer has nothing to do with race. But is this true? Your killer was known to make many phone calls to authorities involving Blacks. I heard that 911 tape, over and over. Your killer described you as a "suspicious person" and also called you a "suspect." He used expletives so bad that they were bleeped out. He made racial slurs and declared that "they always get away." He described you as "walking slowly." You were "suspicious" because you were wearing a hoodie and were of the skin color that your killer apparently did not trust. So many people who support your killer claim that there "is no evidence" that you were a victim of crime or that your homicide was unjustifiable. Nor that you were racially profiled. They point to the fact that your killer mentioned your race only when he was asked by the Dispatcher who took the call, that you supposedly appeared out of nowhere to viciously attack your killer , and that your killer was a good man and neighbor who "would never do such a thing unless he had no choice." Your supporters have held that you were racially profiled and base this on the 911 tape and on the prior 911 calls made by your killer, that involved suspected young Blacks, that you were defending yourself with your fists and that you were a victim. As for one Defense witness choice, I was dismayed at the choice of the young mom, Olivia, who testified at your killer's trial that her home had been invaded by two Black teenagers and that she had understandably feared for her life and that of her children. She testified that your killer had helped her and showed her caring. To me, this sent the jury (and the listening public) a silent message about how young Black people are often seen as scary and "guilty until proven innocent." This is only ONE EXAMPLE of many, many such.
Throughout the trial itself, your killer was humanized and the Defense selected many witnesses who spoke glowingly of your killer and what he meant to them. Your killer sat in court, day after day and the six ladies who were to decide his fate, got many chances to bond with him and see him as a real, flesh and blood person. We kept seeing the wounds on the back of your killer's head and on his nose. The six-women jury kept seeing those photos. Your heartbreaking autopsy photos, on the other hand, seemed to have been shown less to the jury. In court, your mom, dad and brother did testify in your behalf. But the State did not call anyone as "character witnesses" to speak of who you were, as the Defense did for your killer. I was saddened that the "star witness" for the State," your friend Rachel, was trashed by so many people on the two days that she testified. She did say how you mentioned that you felt that you were being stalked by a "creepy ass cracker" and at one point, begged your killer to "Get off of me, get off!" She spoke to you minutes before you were killed. On social media and the Internet, people vilified Rachel because of her physical appearance and because of how she spoke. She was criticized because she admitted to lying in a court deposition, about her age and why she could not bring herself to attend your funeral. Overall, though, it seems that your case was doomed from the very beginning, since you were found dead on the grass that terrible night. The LE believed your killer's account of justifiable self-defense and dropped initial charges against him. You were not properly identified, An initial investigation was not properly done and crucial evidence that could have brought your killer were lost forever. Sadly, the State, therefore, was not able to put on your case as they would have liked and in a way that would have brought your killer to justice. The jury selection consisted of a non-diverse group of women except for a woman of unknown minority.
Last Saturday night, we heard the verdict, which only deepened the bitter divide that has exist over the case from the beginning. I had been feeling positive and hopeful when the jury had brought the Judge a question concerning the lesser charge of Manslaughter. However, when about an hour later, the verdict was quickly read. Your parents, who had been there daily as their show of support for you, did not show up at the reading of the controversial verdict. When I heard the "Not Guilty" verdict that set your killer totally free, with all his liberties restored to him, like so many others, I was profoundly affected. Your killer did not even get Manslaughter, much less Second-Degree Murder. As a result, there are peaceful protests all over the US. I understand that "Justice4YTrayvon" vigils are to be held in 100 cities, all over the US tomorrow alone. Over a million of us have signed a Change.org petition calling on the Justice Department to investigate your case and to see if your killer can have hate crimes charges brought against him. The Attorney General, Eric Holder, is now looking into this matter and your killer's gun, used to end your life, has been turned over to them. Yes, there have been some race riots but for the most part, people have been said to be peaceful. I saw your parents interviewed yesterday and again, they have shown the same strength, dignity, grace and courage they showed throughout the entire trial.
Your killer? He may be innocent in the eyes of the law. He may be free in the legal sense. But free emotionally, spiritually, or even physically? No. Many, many expressions of anger, ill will and hate have been expressed all over the Internet and on social networks. He, his family and those on his legal team have received death threats and they are said to be many, coming in daily. I saw a Facebook page set up called, "I Hate George Zimmerman." A Black group has set up a $10,000 bounty to capture your killer, to "get him." So your killer remains guilty in the eyes of many in the public and this will be unlikely to ever change. Your tragic, untimely young death has sparked many national conversations about race relations, gun laws, the inequities in the criminal justice system and the need to prevent violence in our neighborhoods. So while a Florida jury of six women have set your killer free, have stated that your death is a justifiable homicide, and that you were not a mere victim but were responsible for your death, they do not have the last word. Your parents are committed to devoting the rest of their lives to preventing and ending violence, in your name and in your honor. Many people are calling for changes in some of our gun laws that made it almost impossible to convict your killer of any crime in your tragic death. People see you as a symbol of the inequities in the criminal justice system and many bad attitudes that are rampant throughout our society, toward anyone who looks, walks, talks or acts differently and is more likely to be seen as "suspicious" and a "danger to society."
Rest in peace, Trayvon. You have not died in vain.
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