I was at the “Justice for Trayvon” rally sponsored by National Action Network and WVON that was held this past Saturday at the Federal Plaza. I estimated the crowd to have been around 3,000 people with 98 percent of those protesting being black.
Considering all the anguish that people are claiming over the verdict in the Trayvon Martin murder case, I would have expected at least a million black folks to come out to take a stand.
But as usual, it’s a lot easier to talk than demonstrate or support. And in a show of no respect for our cause, every time a person who really had something to say got to the microphone, the police helicopter buzzed loudly overhead in an attempt to drown out the sound.
I was impressed with the number of young people who came out. Trayvon’s murder and the acquittal of his killer sends a message of terror into the minds of young people, who may one day be walking back from the store when someone determines they are a danger or threat and shoots them dead.
And that is the essence of why every fair-minded person should be appalled at the outcome of this trial. A kid, talking on his cellphone is stalked, then murdered and the jury is easily guided into making the victim responsible for his own death.
In retrospect, it confirms that Mark O’Mara’s knock-knock joke was truly a reflection on just how stupid the jury can be.
On several websites that I visited, I saw posts regarding the trial that asked a basic question: Where is the white person in the case?
Zimmerman identified himself as Hispanic on his voter registration card, so are we as black people making the issue black-white when it should be black-Hispanic? I got to wondering if Zimmerman’s dad had been Peruvian and his mother white and Zimmerman’s name was Sanchez or Garcia, would it have changed the dynamics of the case? Because right now, very few care to focus on Zimmerman’s ethnic identity claim or chose to ignore it. Why?
For years, every black politician has always prefaced their comments by making blacks and Hispanics a singular group. When Ed Garner was holding rallies about the new Menard’s at 91st and Western not having any blacks working on it, Hispanics were employed.
When others got upset about there not being any black waiters when large groups of blacks dine at downtown hotels for conventions, Hispanics are working. So if Zimmerman who is half-white wants to be known simply as Hispanic, especially in light of his appearance, why are we making him white?
And before you answer, a slight reminder that Barack Obama’s mother is white and many people ignore it to claim him as black. So why isn’t Zimmerman afforded that same privilege? Both he and Obama are choosing to label themselves with the descriptions that match their appearance since they both look more like one of their parents than the other.
It is also interesting that for once, the media is not to be blamed. At least not white media. They have labeled Zimmerman as a white Hispanic. But because of immigration reform, black politicians, black media and everyone in between who comments to black folks have left the Hispanic out of Zimmerman’s description.
For years the politicians and black media have inundated us with the preface of “black and Hispanic” (BH) in regards to every crisis affecting the black community. Black people have become so trained to worry about Hispanics, that it is the modern day equivalent of the slave asking the master, “How we feeling today, boss?”
And if Zimmerman who considers himself to be Hispanic said to the 911 operator that, “They always get away …” it is obvious that he doesn’t consider himself to be a part of the “they.”
I know that it is not politically correct to address this issue like this, but I cannot take another moment of people giving me the BH shill while ignoring the Hispanic aspect of the Zimmerman case.
WVON is calling it “Taste of WVON” a second opportunity to come and rally regarding “Justice for Trayvon.” It starts at 10 a.m., this Saturday (July 27) at Lorraine Dixon Park, 87th and Dauphine. Be there.
