D.C. Rally for Trayvon Martin

The Trayvon Martin tragedy deeply disturbs me in two ways:

1. An innocent young man was senselessly robbed of his life.

2. "What does it mean to be a problem?" - W.E.B. DuBois

For the first statement, it is haunting that a young, unarmed black man can be shot in cold blood while simply walking to a convenience store - disturbing, haunting, and tragic. To George Zimmerman, it didn't matter who Trayvon Martin was, nor that he was visiting his grandfather; Zimmerman just saw a black face that didn't belong in his neighborhood and he decided to ignore police orders not to pursue: shoot first, ask questions later. I am hurt and saddened for the lost of Trayvon. I cannot begin to imagine that Trayvon's mother and father did not know their son was murdered until three days after the fact. I am also disturbed for this reason: that could have been me, my cousins, my friends, or any of the kids I've worked with over the years.

Another emotion I feel is anger. I am angered at the incompetence of the Florida law enforcement. How is it that a man is able to kill another human being and the following occurs:

• He is not taken into police custody, but rather is free to walk - despite the fact that he has a previous criminal record

• He is not given a blood test for alcohol and/or drugs

• The police do not take the weapon for evidence, but rather allow the killer to take his gun home (for all we know, George Zimmerman has already disposed of the weapon). 

For all practical purposes, the Florida police let George Zimmerman - a cold blooded murderer - walk free. My friend M brought this tragedy to my attention about two weeks ago and provides a strong summary: http://imsuchanafroholic.blogspot.com/2012/03/post-racial-is-dirtiest-word-i-know.html

....

I rarely protest, but yesterday I attended the Washington D.C. rally in Freedom Plaza for Trayvon Martin. I felt so strongly about this tragedy in the sense that justice needs to be served here. And to be clear, I am not talking about revenge and neither are Trayvon's parents, nor any other supporters who are petitioning for Zimmerman's arrest and trial. I feel as though we are calling on America to do the right thing. We are calling for America to make sure justice is served with a comprehensive and thorough investigation, the arrest of George Zimmerman, and a fair trial. There have been far too many times that America has not done right by black folk (and all people of color, but especially black and Native American folk since the beginning); yesterday afternoon, in a spirit of brotherhood with others around the world, we rallied to send a message to America: we're done with this mess and we're getting justice for Trayvon.

The rally was organized by three young ladies via social media. They we're only expecting 50 to 80 folks to show up, but hundreds came (and thousands passed by). Folks came wearing their hoodies and carrying their Arizona Iced Teas and Skittles. What inspired me was the solidarity of D.C.'s black folk. I was inspired that mothers and fathers brought their sons and daughters to the rally in order to stand up for justice. I was inspired that the grandmothers and grandfathers who may have been at some of the rallies during the Civil Rights movement came out. I was inspired that so many people were rocking their homemade Trayvon Martin t-shirts and signs. On the way to the rally, one thing that struck me was a sign made and held by a white woman that read: "My son is Trayvon Martin too." One of the many questions that I have surrounding this tragedy is if it is possible for white folk to empathize in regards to what happened? With that in mind, I'm glad that I saw this woman and her sign.

Every moment of the rally was powerful and I felt it. I came as one, but left as part of 500. I was part of a group of hundreds of people who gathered in a spirit of fellowship to say we're "tired of being sick and tired." In each direction I looked - front, back, right, and left - I saw people wearing the same thing I was: a black hoodie. For almost two hours, we listened to speakers and spoken-word performers who represented us and verbalized our thoughts to the District, the nation, and the world. One of the most powerful messages came from a student from Georgetown who challenged us to "get to work." This young man said that we need to take all the emotions, - the hurt, the pain, the sadness, the anger, the love - put them into our heart, and transform them into energy for the work that needs to be done.

So that's what I'm trying to figure out right now: how do I take all of these feelings and emotions that are in my heart right now and put them to work to make a difference? I am not sure yet, but I left the rally as a different person and that was the point. The MC of the rally, a preacher, said that we cannot let this end today, tomorrow, or in a month; we need to keep this thing going so that we can continue to improve our communities and make sure this doesn't happen again to another kid ever again. I'm going to do my best to do that and contribute what I'm able.