Making the connections between Trayvon Martin and schooling in urban America
by thenotebook on Jul 22 2013 Posted in Commentary
The death of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his killer provide a window on race in America in the “post-racial” Obama era. In spite of the judge's rulings in the case, the views of Zimmerman's defense, and the opinions of many, mostly white, people, race not only matters, but pervades our judgments on politics and social conditions.
Racial profiling doesn't take place only in gated communities--it happens in schools. The policies of a criminal justice system that targets African American males for detention, selective prosecution, and harsh sentencing are mirrored in the zero-tolerance programs of most urban school districts.
African American males are more likely to be suspended, expelled, and arrested than any other demographic that commits the same offenses. Underlying these policies are the same stereotypes of young Black males that prompted George Zimmerman to act and fuels much of the support for his acquittal.
The Trayvon Martins in our country are guilty until proven innocent. Juror B-37 from the trial thought that George Zimmerman’s “heart was in the right place,” and that Trayvon Martin “played a huge role in his death”. Martin, in her view, “could have walked away.” Of course, we don’t in fact know if he could have walked away if he wanted to. But the point is that, for Juror B-37, the burden for avoiding violence was on Martin.
Following that line of thinking: When Emmett Till was murdered in cold blood for