WHERE CAN THE BLACK AND BROWN BOYS GO?

On February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, a 17-year-old high school student, Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a mixed race (white and Peruvian), 28-year-old, overzealous, armed, son of an ex-judge, neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was temporarily staying and where the shooting took place.  Following an earlier call from Zimmerman (during which he was clearly heard calling the unknown youth a punk and during which the police instructed him not to pursue the youth) police arrived within two minutes of a gunshot during a scuffle, in which Zimmerman had fatally shot Martin.  Zimmerman was taken into custody, treated for head injuries, questioned for five hours, and then released.  The police chief said that Zimmerman was released for lack of evidence and lack of legal grounds for arrest, and that Zimmerman had a right to defend himself with lethal force. 

Six weeks later, amid widespread, intense and contradictory media coverage and misleading reporting, Zimmerman was charged with murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott.  Zimmerman's trial began on June 10, 2013, in Sanford.  On July 13, 2013, a jury comprised of all white women, acquitted him of second-degree murder and of manslaughter charges.

On February 26, 2012, a great deal of things that may have been on the back burner in a lot of black and brown parents’ minds was forced front and center.  I’m not suggesting that the dark thoughts didn’t exist prior to February 26^th, I’m just saying that most people of color have been fed round after round of “Repressitol” tablets, along with regular doses of red, cherry flavored, we-now-live-in-a-world-where-race-or-skin-color-doesn’t-matter, Kool-Aid.  On July 13, 2013, it became impossible to suppress, repress, ignore, sweep-under-the-rug, or deny the evil and dark thoughts, and the undeniable facts from whence they emanate, that were swirling and building momentum.  The acquittal of the smiling George Zimmerman and the subsequent media coverage that suggested that “poor George” was merely defending himself caused most people of color to consider refusing another drink of the proverbial, calming Kool-Aid, and palming the “Repressitol” tablet that we are all expected to ingest for the sake of “civility” (how ironic). 

What did Trayvon Martin, Emmett Till, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Jordan Davis and any other black and brown youth, and nameless victims have in common?  They were all perceived threats to the fabric of American society.  These young men are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to who we value in our society.  These young men most likely knew that in America, people will discount you for who you are before you open your mouth, simply because you are black or brown.  The shameful, dark and evil thoughts that burst from my head on July 13^th immediately took up residence on my young, brown, long-haired, free-spirited, open-minded, creative, kind and loving son’s shoulders.  He carries the burden of being a black or brown, male in America. 

When Jordan asked me to explain why someone was killed and his killer wasn’t punished it broke my heart to have to explain that the acquittal of George Zimmerman is another example of how America devalues the lives of its black men and perceives them as threatening and expendable just because of the color of their skin.  It pained me to have to explain to him that he should always be respectful to law-enforcement, not because it’s the right thing to do in a “civilized” society, but because it may one day save his life.  It angered me that I will have to constantly caution him about the tone of his voice, the pace at which he ambulates (God forbid he’s seen running for no reason) and the way he dresses, as these are things his friends who are not brown or black will never be burdened with.  It floors me that I will have to do this until his free spirit is reigned in and he is conscious of his every action.  It almost kills me to know that no matter what he does, or doesn’t do he will likely be routinely stopped by the police and possibly accused of a crime because he “fits a profile”.  It disgusts me that I will have to instruct him repeatedly to bear the humiliation of said routine stop or interrogation and not to say a word or talk back, to avert his eyes and speak in a calming tone and remember to habitually take his “Repressitol” tablet, lest his ire at this injustice may rise and he may join the ranks of the countless number black and brown victims.  I want to protect my son and keep him alive… so I take another sip of the calming, red Kool-Aid, and another “Repressitol” and tell my son, through my teachings, that his life is only invaluable to me and that he is Trayvon Martin.  Then I keen.

I am deeply saddened, and ask where can the black and brown boys go to be kept safe?  Some families choose to take a chance (by necessity in most cases) and raise them in the inner cities, teach them to be street-savvy, expose them to all different kinds of people and experiences and run the risk of them being victimized by another black or brown person.  Other black and brown families, who can afford to relocate to a less urban and more integrated community, like the gated community Trayvon’s father, Tracy, moved to, face the possibility that their sons’ may be racially profiled and criminalized without actually doing anything.  It seems hopeless.  There is no safe place.  

  

Where can we take our black and brown boys so they won’t be lost to thugs, to drugs, to prison or to the police?  I wish I had the answers…  What are some of your Way Beyond Z solutions?       

“In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” - Toni Morrison

“To cheapen the lives of any group of men, cheapens the lives of all men, even our own. This is a law of human psychology, or human nature. And it will not be repealed by our wishes, nor will it be merciful to our blindness.”  - William Pickens