On Saturday July 13th, 2013, a jury of six women found George Zimmerman not guilty on all charges in the murder of Trayvon Martin, a young Black man who was racially profiled, considered "suspicious" simply because of the color of his skin, and then murdered on the street by a neighborhood watch vigilante. We are outraged and disgusted by this verdict. It highlights the enormous injustices of our system, indeed forcing us to question the idea that "justice" even exists within the legal system of our country.
The deep racism and historic inequality of our legal system is mirrored in the systemic inequality of our education system. It is no coincidence that the majority of schools being closed in Philadelphia, and across the country, are schools with majority Black and Brown students in low income neighborhoods. As educators, we have a responsibility to discuss, address and develop an analysis around not only this case, but also other forms of oppression and institutional racism, so that we can
