When I was in middle school, everyone I knew banded together to break the dress code and wear hoodies to show our support of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was an unarmed 17-year- old African-American. He was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida on February 26, 2012. I was an eighth grader, growing up in a predominately white suburbs. I remember being afraid of breaking the rules of authority in simple protest. At lunch, the principal spoke to us and said that it is our right to express our opinions but asked that we kept the hoods down during class. At the time I didn’t quite grasp that I was using my right to the First Amendment, carrying on the legacy of non-disruptive protest in schools, held up by Tinker v. Des Moines. At the time, I also didn’t understand why this innocent boy met such an early death due to civil injustice and systemic racism. I still don’t understand. I am a white person, and I understand that my privilege allows me a detached viewpoint. I have never experienced the suffering and discrimination that people of color face daily that has become all too accepted in modern society. I, however, would like to stand in solidarity with the black community and try to be empathetic for such great losses I personally am a stranger too. I am trying to find the words to say that I feel for the black community although I understand I am separate from the black community but I mourn the loss of human life. This is my reaction to such tragic news and my thoughts on the stagnation on any progress.
Photograph of Trayvon Martin from the George Zimmerman Case
Photo Source: Linder, D. O. (2014). George Zimmerman ("Trayvon Martin") Trial 2013.
Trayvon Martin passed away over four years ago and yet if you have seen any news lately you’ll know that his death is far from an isolated incident. Repeatedly in the news there are stories about black men who have been shot and killed by policemen. I wish that I could convey the stories of all these losses, to pay some small homage to the inconceivable suffering that families, friends, and communities have been through. But my simple words are meaningless when it comes to something as monumental as the loss of life. I believe that in every person there is a kind of shining potential, some unique combination of genes and energy that the world has never seen before and will never see again. This driving life force has potential to stir up change, to inquire, to question, to create. Too often the life forces of people of color drain out as they bleed out in the street, robbed of life, robbed of dignity, robbed of the rights that we as Americans strive to make universal.
Photograph of people involved in the 300 Men March
Photo Source: Broadwater, L. (2015, May 6). 300 Men March seeks to reclaim neighborhoods, one corner at a time.
My intention, however, is not to blame any particular person for this massive issue. I do ardently believe that people should deal with consequences of their actions in a fair legal system, but I do not believe that all policemen are somehow inherently bad. No, it would be easy to write this issue off as strictly police brutality, but it’s so much more than individual policemen and their crimes. One such organization that I have come across in my research is the 300 Men March that is focused on not antagonizing policemen but instead working with them to try and find peace in Baltimore. Their message is simple and effective: "We must stop killing each other." I believe that Black Lives Matter, but I believe that this is a complex issue that is not a result of a single cause and that alternative ways of addressing this problem are important. This is a problem of society, of racism that is still alive and breeding, of people being desensitized to murder, of a society that is resistant to change. Change, although it is often uncomfortable, is mandatory for the progression of life. Change is mandatory for the progression of society; a society that refuses to adapt will find itself outdated and ill-equipped to compete with more modern ones. Change is human, society is human, we are all human. How can we bear this rigid attitude that makes our society backward and simply accept the murder of people just like us?
In the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important pieces of literature written in the foundation of the United States of America, it clearly says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” By no means am I suggesting we overthrow the government. What I am suggesting is that the government should reflect the will of the people, and many people believe in change.
There has not been any significant legislature created in the past years that I can recall has made any difference in the ongoing problems of racism and murder. Although I lament the lack of change and the strange complacency people have with news, there has been protesting and rioting. I have never been part of a riot nor have I witnessed a riot, but from a detached standpoint, I think that protests and riots are signs that people feel they have been wronged. That people feel that the government or a system is against them. That people feel there are problems that are going unaddressed, that problems are going ignored, that problems are not being prioritized the way they should. The Declaration of Independence says that everyone is entitled to life, to liberty, to the pursuit of happiness. Recent events seem to say that some groups are not entitled to life, that liberty and justice are not being served, that happiness is meaningless. Why do we ignore the words of our forefathers?
Photo Source: Johnson, M. Z. (2015, April 29). Here’s What You’re Missing When You Object to the Black Lives Matter Protests
I am and will continue to be outraged by the meaningless deaths of innocent people. I only hope that my words can inspire feeling, that feeling can inspire action, that action can inspire change. My first realization of the suffering of the injustice of the justice system was four years ago. I was afraid of authority, afraid of taking a stance on an issue, afraid of consequences. But collectively we are not children, we are humans who are banded together in the United States, all pursuing justice, all pursuing happiness. I honestly don’t know a solution to fix this all. I don’t know what legislature can be written to better protect these assurances made in the Declaration of Independence. I don’t know what to do. But I do know one thing. We must create change.
