Educating Trayvon Martin
As an educator, I feel that I must speak out on the outrageous injustice regarding the Trayvon Martin case. As you probably already know, Trayvon Martin is a 17-year-old African-American high school student who was accosted and shot dead by a self-appointed “neighborhood watchman” while walking home in his neighborhood. This happened a month ago, and to date, the killer has not been charged with any crime, as he claimed he was acting in “self-defense”, although there is no evidence to support this claim. Thinking about this situation has brought up many feelings for me not only as a teacher, but also as a mother, wife, sister, niece and daughter. I am confused, angry, disappointed, outraged, discouraged, and hurt to think that someone can kill a child on the street, not go to jail, and then “pundits” can try to justify the killing for reasons like “he was wearing a hoodie” (in the rain).
I stand for justice for Trayvon, not because he was a “good kid”, as has been brought up many times in the media. In my opinion, that’s neither here nor there. Even if Trayvon had just been released from jail, he still has a right to live! There is NO evidence that he posed a threat to anyone, so why is no one being held accountable for his murder? I think this is a very relevant issue for educators, because we