Trayvon Martin

It's been about 1 month since the murder of 17 y.o. Florida youth Trayvon Martin by volunteer neighborhood patrolman, George Zimmerman. The Guardian, CNN, Anderson Cooper and surprisingly Donald Trump have been giving this story national attention. One name, one face and the nation brings light to historical black annihilation, racial profiling, youth profiling and inter-racial prejudice.

Everyday a Trayvon Martin is chased by cops down the street. Every month dozens or more youth are stopped, frisked, questioned, fondled and humiliated in their communities by bigoted patrolmen, officers and scared citizens. What do any of us do? Do we keep walking, do we videotape it and submit it to the local precincts, post on YouTube and 1 week later forget that we ever witnessed the dehumanizing of vulnerable people but then give our unlimited attention to reality TV's The Real Housewives, Basketball Wives, Jerseylicious and other frivolities?

Twitter chats today included passionate conversations about how helpless people feel when another minority youth is murdered while the justice system upholds its rigid legislation, as other twitter chats linked to reports and petitions to arrest George Zimmerman, who carries a Jewish surname, but is ethnically Latino.

New York City is a city that knows very well the deep-seated tensions between blacks and Latinos, as this city has seen violent clashes in schools between the 2 ethnic groups and the division in local communities. And though many blacks and Latinos have intermarried over the years and produced offspring from both their traditional and nontraditional unions, the separate and unequal divide among racial groups is still not post-racial.

My thoughts about Trayvon's death are many. Am I hurting because another youth will not grow up and have significant relationships with others and be a positive contributor to society, of course! Am I saddened that his parents have to be mediaheads for the many mothers and fathers who have lived through their same nightmare, sure I am! Am I proud of Rev. Al Sharpton for still having the tenacity, mental acuity and presence to support communities in need right now, damn right I am! But what will tomorrow bring? What will next week or next month bring when Trayvon becomes a memory like Troy Davis has? Will you rally then? Will you look into the backgrounds of politicians you vote for? Will you join community representatives like Jumane Williams, Dr. Lenora Fulani, Kevin Powell and others when they ask you to show up? Show up in your community, stand your ground when a cop pulls over a youth and bear witness to it. Will you talk to teens about their human and civil rights and teach them to know to get an officer's badge #, to not argue aloud with an officer, to not run and to always know that even when you're right you have to fight rightness in a different way than your white counterparts? Will you be there? Will you stand?

I'm speaking to everyone, including myself and I will continue to ask myself these questions too. The next time you're a witness to injustice, and in this country next time always comes, I urge you to stand. Defy helplessness and stand!

Pray for this family and pray for your own.

Support @TheCollectiveA and others in social activism tonight, Friday, May 23rd on Facebook at Tca ByAsha to have an open discussion about how we cope and what's next! 9-9:30pm.