The Zimmerman Verdict is a Refelection of the Times: People Must Organize

Below is an insightful statement from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement about Trayvon Martin.. They not only give us keen analysis but also put forth sound, practical solutions.. We also sat down with MXGM member Kali Akuno who was in Jackson, Mississippi who provided  additional context to this statement.. The link to our Hard Knock Radio interview is located below.. Please check out the conversation while you read the statement.

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HKR-Kali Akuno intv on Trayvon verdict

The Zimmerman Verdict is a Refelection of the Times People Must Organize

Trayvon-Martin-brownTrayvon Martin was never going to get justice from a courtroom of the United States government. Justice for Trayvon and for the hundreds of other Black women, men, and children executed by someone employed or protected by the US government on a daily basis will only come from our people and the power we are able to wield through the strength of our organization and the resolve of our will. Zimmerman was only put on trial because millions of our people took to the streets in early 2012 and threatened to disrupt the system. The trial was a means to divert our energies and return things to the status quo.

Obama’s statement that a “a jury has spoken” encouraging what he called, “calm reflection”, is just another effort to lure Black people to sleep and keep us accepting the status quo. The status quo of white supremacy has never and will never work for Black people.  As W.E.B. DuBois stated, “a system cannot fail those who it was never meant to protect.” White supremacy and the systems that support and reinforce it like capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy must be defeated and dismantled. We must always keep this in mind and be prepared in concrete, organized ways to ensure that there will be no peace if there is no justice. Now is the time for direct action in the form of organized Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns that disrupt the status quo systems of the US government through massive non-compliant resistance.

We must also be clear that the Zimmerman verdict is a reflection of the times. 17-year old Trayvon Martin was the 31st Black person executed by someone employed or protected by the state in 2012. As we demonstrated in Operation Ghetto Storm, 313 Black women, men, and children were executed without trials by the police, security guards or certified “neighborhood watchmen” in 2012. These extrajudicial killings have by no means stopped or slowed down, as witnessed by the execution of Kimani Gray and dozens more Black people in the first six months of 2013. With the Zimmerman verdict justifying and setting new precedent for the disposal of Black life, we should expect the number of extrajudicial killings to increase. It is now more imperative than ever for us to strengthen the organization of our communities and defend ourselves.

MXGM marchWe must defend ourselves, and we have every right to do so by any means necessary.

Black people are in a heightened state of crisis. Since being brought to the shores of North America as captives from European wars of aggression we have constantly battled one crisis after another. However, there are times that are more critical and intense than others. We are presently living through one of these super -critical periods.

We have been hunted and killed in cold blood by the US government in increasing numbers and herded into prisons like cattle in record numbers. The facts presented in Operation Ghetto Storm: 2012 Annual Report on the Extrajudicial Killing of Black People presents us with a deeper understanding of the utter disregard held for Black life within the United States.

The continual practice of executing Black people in the country without pretense of a trial, jury, or judge is an integral part of the government’s current overall strategy of containing the Black community in a state of perpetual colonial subjugation and exploitation. The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial is a testament to the reality that the institutions of the United States uplift and are complicit in the ongoing genocide of Black people.

The only way we are going to defend ourselves against these genocidal challenges is to create a massive social movement. We need a movement that strategically takes on the systemic oppression and exploitation that prevent Black people from exercising self-determination and human rights.

In order to fight effectively we have to organize ourselves on a higher level. One of the critical areas where we have to step up our organizing efforts to be qualitatively more effective is in the area of self-defense. We have to be clear that we cannot and should not count on our enemies – like the courts, and other forces of the US government or transnational corporations – to protect us. We have to protect ourselves.

The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) believes that an essential part of our Movement for survival must be Self-Defense Networks.

We think there are two types of Networks that we have to build:

New Afrikan or Black Self-Defense Networks are alliances, coalitions, or united fronts of Black organizations whose purpose is to defend the Black or New Afrikan community from external (the police, FBI, white terrorist organizations, etc.) and internal (agent infiltration, intra-communal violence, etc.) threats to its safety and security.

People’s Self-Defense Networks are multi-national (or multi-ethnic and/or racial) alliances, coalitions, or united fronts whose purpose is to defend their communities against mutual enemies and threats and advance a common agenda based on shared interests, hopes, and aspirations.

Oppressed peoples and communities can and will only be secure in this country when they are organized to defend themselves against the aggressions of the government and the forces of white supremacy and capitalist exploitation.

The Every 28 Hours Campaign proposes a model for organizing:

 

  1. The formation of Black Self-Defense Networks to defend our people and combat police terrorism. These Networks should seek to build Copwatch programs, engage in mass rights based education trainings for the community, serve as first responders to acts of Police Terrorism, and help coordinate mass resistance to these acts via mass mobilizations and direct action. These Networks should also be encouraged to engage in offensive campaigns, such as referendums to institute Police Control Boards.
  1. The formation of People’s Self-Defense Networks to defend the lives and interests of all oppressed peoples’ and exploited classes against various forms of state terrorism. These People’s Self-Defense Networks would work as multi-national alliances to engage in a broad manner all of the tasks mentioned above to defend oppressed peoples and targeted communities, such as LGBTQ2GNC communities, against institutionalized racism, white supremacy, institutionalized sexism, patriarchy and state repression be it racial profiling, gender profiling, stop and frisk, mass incarceration, or mass deportations.
  1. Waging campaigns for local referendums to institute Police Control mechanisms – i.e. community based structures that have the power to hire, fire, subpoena, and discipline the police on the local level. And waging massive, non-compliant campaigns of resistance employing BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanction) strategies and tactics on statewide, regional, and national levels.
  1. Forming People’s Assemblies, on local, citywide, and regional levels to engage in program and demand development initiatives that will enable the people to engage in the broad implementation of people’s programs for self-defense and mutual aid.

The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) and the Every 28 Hours Campaign seeks to strengthen organizing initiatives within Black or New Afrikan communities for self-defense, by presenting these initiatives with a comprehensive analytical framework and practical organizing tools to ground and unite them.

MXGM offers to Black and other oppressed communities three resources 1) Operation Ghetto Storm, a full report on the 2012 extra judicial killings; 2) Let Your Motto Be Resistance, an organizing handbook for self-defense; and 3) We Charge Genocide Again!, a curriculum for the Every 28 Hours Campaign, to further this objective

Links:

 

Operation Ghetto Storm: 2012 Annual Report on the Extrajudicial Killing of Black People

http://mxgm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Operation-Ghetto-Storm.pdf

 

Let Your Motto Be Resistance

http://mxgm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Self-Defense-Manual-MERGED.pdf

 

We Charge Genocide Again!

http://mxgm.org/we-charge-genocide-again-new-curriculum-on-every-28-hours-report/

For more information on these resources or trainings please contact Kali Akuno at kaliakuno@mxgm.org.

For coalition building and Self-Defense Networks please contact Taliba Obuya at taliba@mxgm.org.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmJqzEVKwoU

Why is There So Much Hype About Riots After this George Zimmerman Verdict?

Trayvon Martin signSo as the jury deliberates for a second day around this George Zimmerman trial, talk about Rodney King style riots breaking out is being amped up..

News anchors and pundits along with the police are showing up on TV looking all somber telling us to please keep it peaceful and stay calm no matter what the verdict.. I think I saw a news report with Reverend Al Sharpton telling us not to gloat if Zimmerman is convicted..Seemingly every Civil Rights leader from Jesse Jackson to NAACP head Ben Jealous has been dragged before the cameras to plead for folks to trust in the justice system, even if it far too often, leaves us on the short end of the stick.

In preparing for this possible urban unrest, community leaders have gone out and tapped young people to do anti-violence PSA’s where they plead for peace. The whole scene reminded me of what was done on the days leading up to the Oscar Grant verdict which took place July 8th 2010.. Folks in the Bay Area may recall this PSA shown below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqofgXqteuQ

This is what’s being done now around the Zimmerman trial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LM2bRU_Tsc

Several protesters lie face down on the ground in front of of riot

Protesters lie face down on the ground in front of riot cops

With respect to this threat of riots/civil unrest, let’s unpack that for a minute. My experience over the years of covering uprisings during the Oscar Grant Movement, the Occupy Movement, various the DNC and RNC Conventions from 2000 on up, to several G20 and G8 summits has led me to the conclusion that we should always be asking the following questions; 1-Who is pushing the assertions that riots are imminent and how are they pushing it? 2-Who stands to benefit the most from the threat of unrest? (key word ‘threat’)  3-What’s the political, economic and social agenda if any, attached these threats?

Personally I think the riot talk is being hyped up to the financial benefit of two main outfits which are corporate media and the Police.. Both thrive off of fear, confusion and mayhem..

In the case of news outlets, a riot is the ultimate reality tv that falls in line with its tried and true modus operandi “if it bleeds it leads’..Trust me many of those anchors and pundits may be sitting up in their cushy chairs pleading with you to stay home, but their overall coverage and over the top on air banter is designed to push emotional buttons, ignite and incite..

OscarGrantChaos in the streets equals ratings, hence if there ain’t some windows being broken and fires being lit after this verdict comes down, you’re gonna have some disappointed news outlets..

The other outfit that benefits from all this riot talk are the police..You start talking riots and civil unrest, it becomes an all hands on deck operations. This means cops are called in on their day off while others have their vacation days cut..

Everyone is put to work as the departments deploy extra patrols and increase surveillance and intel gathering of anyone and everyone who they think might be down to set it off after the verdict is read..

In preparation for the riots..you best believe many departments are dusting off the law books and seeing how they can push the legal envelope.. This means they may do explore everything from mass arrests to pre-emptive raids and detaining of key organizers to shutting down entire blocks and neighborhoods to setting up enclosed ‘protests zones’ and ‘free speech cages’. Many are going over crowd control and kettling strategies

All this is happening to the tune of massive overtime pay for law enforcement.. This is on top of them busting out new weapons, new vehicles and new Star wars-type storm trooper outfits..

I recall during the Oscar Grant and Oakland Occupy Movements, police would hold press conferences warning fearful residents of ‘outside agitators’ and anarchists. They would then bring in as many as 500 cops from 17 different jurisdictions to the tune of 500k to one million a pop..

Police Riot gearThis scenario is playing out in cities all over the country. From Oakland to New York to Chicago to Houston.. Police in Sanford, Florida are not the only ones gearing up for ‘civil unrest’. It’s big business and a lot of folks are fixing to get paid..

The biggest irony to all this all this is while the focus and concern on riots is directed at Black folks who are continuously being demonized, civil unrest may actually come from far-right wing nuts who support George Zimmerman and feel a conviction will be a blow to Stand Your Ground Laws..Black folks do not have a monopoly on civil unrest..

This country has a sordid past where we seen angry white mobs set off some of the most devastating riots’ in history with Black people as their target. from Tulsa to Chicago to Atlanta to Bensonhurst, BK to Boston to Howard Beach.. Even in the riots most associated with Black unrest, large numbers of Black folks were killed often at the hands of the police who used the occasion to go off..We saw this during the Watts Riots in 65 to the Newark and Detroit uprisings in ’67 to Rodney King unrest  in ’92. Many of us deemed those deaths as target practice.. The recent HBO documentary about all those killed by police during the Newark Riots gives a serious breakdown on this.

In recent years we’ve seen a major increase in the number of Black people killed or brutalized by the police. According to the latest reports from the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, every 28 hours a Black person is killed by police.  You don’t think that hostility won’t play out during a Rodney King style riot?? All one has to do is look at what unfolded during Katrina when there were threats of riots and mayhem to see how the police and folks in power get down.. There were all sorts of killings both by police and vigilante types..

tea-party-gun-advocateOver the past few years we’ve seen the uncovering of plots with white supremacist attempting to find ways to set off some sort of race war.. We’ve seen a rise in militia types who feel like this country is set to collaspe with Black and Brown folks as the blame. This is coupled with the anger and vitriol we’ve seen by Tea Party types who have shown up with guns in tow on to presidential campaign rallies and congressional townhall meetings that they’ve disrupt, who down to bring the ruckus..

During this George Zimmerman trial we’ve had a number of prominent conservative leaning journalists from Geraldo Rivera to Joe Scarborough hawking the ‘Trayvon was a hoodie wearing thug who got what he deserved‘ narrative and that if Zimmerman doesn’t get off its an indication are country is falling. Many have embraced such rhetoric to the point that in all honesty instead of just having a traditional Civil Rights leaders calling for peace, maybe we need to see folks like Pastor Rick Warren or the head of the NRA Wayne LaPierre doing PSA calling on folks to be peaceful and respect the verdict.

What’s also ironic is with many of these so-called riots we’ve seen in recent years from the one in Austin, Texas in May of 2009 when police killed a sleeping Nathaniel Sanders to the recent unrest in East Flatbush, Brooklyn after Kamani Gray was gunned down, they pale in comparison to the unrest we see breakout after sporting events.

Compare the unrest in Oakland after the Oscar Grant verdict in 2010 to the mayhem that engulfed neighboring San Francisco after the Giants won the World Series this past year.

Compare the unrest that occurred on the Penn State campus when went students went buckwyld after learning head coach Joe Paterno was fired with the lack of unrest in Detroit a few weeks ago when a mistrial ‘verdict ‘ came down for SWAT Team member Joseph Weekley who was accused of killing 7 year old Aiyana Stanley Jones while he was ‘showing off’ for a Reality TV show.

Compare the reaction to verdicts of injustice to high profile cases like Sean Bell or Amadou Diallo where officers were acquitted for shooting un-armed men to the riots in the streets we saw after the Lakers Beat the Celtics in 2010 or after the crazy riots in Vancouver after the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup. Where was the nationwide calls for peace or even Anti-riot PSAs from the respective sports stars?

Penn State Riots

Penn State Riots

What’s going on right now with all these impending riot warnings seems like another attempt to resurrect the scary Black Boogey man..It’s the continued demonization of Black folks at all costs.  It was done during this trial where Trayvon Martin‘s character was called into question and he was depicted as a weed smoking violent prone thug vs George Zimmerman who actually has an arrest record, a criminal past and a history of violence.. It’s being done now with the goal of planting fear in the minds of many..

By feeding into that narrative of young African-Americans as the main instigators and sole participants, what gets overlooked is the fact that in many civil disturbances including the Rodney King uprisings which we are told we need to prevent, folks from all sorts of racial and ethnic backgrounds were running around kicking up dust and in the mix. We saw that during the Oscar Grant protests.. We saw that during the uprisings in London and France.. We sure as hell saw that during the Occupy, Anti-war and Anti-Globalization Protests.

What also gets lost is that many times there are no riots after any number of controversial trials.

If there is any sort of unrest after this George Zimmerman trial because he’s acquitted it won’t be only Black folks out in the streets. It’ll be folks of all stripes who are upset with a justice system that they perceive as unfair.. If there is unrest perhaps we should be exploring ways to repair a broken justice system that has left many with broken spirits and broken hearts vs worrying about broken windows which are easily replaced..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcSm6EX1coo

Jasiri X: George Zimmerman is a ‘Creepy Azz Cracka’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwHhemgXp-Q

George Zimmerman

George Zimmerman

I’m Loving what Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X just did around this George Zimmerman Trial..here’s what he had to say:

I decided to put my thoughts about the Zimmerman trial, the ruling on the Voting Rights Act, and Race in America into a 16 bar verse:

Oh you was born black welcome to the curse race

Oh you was born brown you sure this is your birthplace

This is America the home of the white man

Where every other American gets a hyphen

People of color police shoot us on site man

And then be like damn I was just frightened

See just the color of my skin is intimidating

Here I’m a criminal just based on my pigmentation

We need God our only mass is incarceration

We need Jesus cause these preachers got the heart of Satan

They toast to our death celebrating with ice cream

Vanilla with the cake cone must be a white thing

They wanna stop us from voting well what do rights mean?

If the end result of our struggle can just be wiped clean

And Zimmerman is a creepy ass cracka

A racist child murdering liar and bad actor

 

We Can Honor Trayvon By Making this George ZimmermanTrial Really Mean Something

George Zimmerman

George Zimmerman

As everyone watches this Trayvon Martin/ George Zimmerman trial, please note there will be a lot of inflammatory stuff said and revealed leading to a lot of emotion and discussion.. That of course is understandable.. However, we need to keep in mind.. this trial will be used by many in positions of power as a distraction.. So first and foremost, let’s be sure to keep our eyes and ears open for other things taking place..In other words pay close attention to new laws and policies that allow clamp down on our freedoms and even our rights to appeal…

That leads me to my second point.. we must remember George Zimmerman is not a police officer..He’s a guy who tried to act like one.. but he’s not an officer, thus the shooting of unarmed Black people every 28 hours by police as reported by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement doesn’t suddenly end with a Zimmerman conviction.. Him going to jail will not have a chilling effect on police officers. It will not change the way DAs mishandled police brutality cases. It will not handle the way judges come down on side of the police…

Remember the DA in this case prosecuting Zimmerman, Bernie de la Rionda was appointed by state attorney Angela Corey.. This is the same Ms Corey sent Marrisa Alexander to jail for 20 years for shooting a gun in the air to scare off husband who had a restraining order and was threatening to bet rid of Corey.. If anything it may make her a hero leading us forgetting she has dirty hands..

The bottom line is in the larger scheme of things Zimmerman is powerless. Yes, today with all the emotions surrounding this case, he symbolizes injustice and hopefully he’s convicted and punished. But again just like the OJ trial didn’t end police terrorism in LA or systemic racism in the department.  A Zimmerman conviction will not change policies like Stop and Frisk or even Stand Your Ground..It wont stop the people and organizations like ALEC that are behind those laws.. It won’t change the attitude of police who we saw just last week in Florida who feel they have a right to choke 14 year old boy holding a puppy  in front of his mother because they didn’t like the ‘dehumanizing’ look given to them..Read about that HERE.

This Zimmerman trial has the potential to be a stepping stone to major changes, but that’s only if we follow-up and don’t make the mistake of thinking the movement to end injustice ends with a Zimmerman conviction.

We talked with Michael Skolznik of Global Grind who is down in Sanford and in our conversation he noted that fortunately he has seen the political will of folks willing to step up and go beyond this trial. He noted that since Trayvon, there has been a lot of mobilizing around Stand Your Ground, and even though it’s not a defense being used by Zimmerman, folks were able to organize around the country stop any new Stand Your Ground laws from being passed.. That’s the first time this has happened in 8 years.

Trayvon Martin's parents

Trayvon Martin’s parents

Skolznik also noted that this Trayvon case also helped spotlight the insidious nature of Stop and Frisk and that while it’s a law that’s still on the books, the procedure has been put on trial and work will continue to end it once and for all.. He also noted that he and many others have drawn courage from Trayvon’s family and that the commitment to honor them and their son is to remain involved above and beyond the outcomes of this trial.

This was a point also shared by Cephus Johnson aka Uncle Bobby who was the uncle to Oscar Grant a young unarmed man killed by police in Jan 2009. Uncle Bobby who is also in Sanford at the courthouse noted that the hardest challenge facing the family will be the constant dehumanization of their son. It’s what the Grant family had to endure and its an overriding problem facing Black people in general. This climate of fear and suspicion has had deadly consequences and national dialogue about reversing these types of perceptions is surely needed. He noted that the movie ‘Fruitvale’ which will be coming out while this trial is unfolding will be important because it will help remind us that Trayvon like Oscar Grant was a human being who was dearly loved by his family and the community.

Lastly we should be pushing to hold media outlets accountable or at least start redirecting our attention to outlets that give us a fairer shake.. Remember many outlets minimized Zimmerman’s criminal past including his domestic violence issues but ran to the goal line on Trayvon being suspended for holding an empty weed bag.. Trayvon hadn’t been in trouble with the law like Zimmerman…Remember a Zimmerman conviction doesn’t get fools like Geraldo Rivera, who accused hoodie wearers as thugs,  off the air.

Trayvon Martin signAlso many media outlets while reporting on Zimmerman refused to connect the dots to larger issues. Very few made the connection of Zimmerman being a vigilante killer to the rash of vigilante killings directed at Brown folks going on at our borders. This toxic climate of killing those we deem ‘un American and threatening was ignored..Heck very few even connected the vigilante killing by Zimmerman to the rash of killings that took place in New Orleans after Katrina.

Even more egregious is many outlets while rallying up the masses around the murder of Trayvon and how unarmed Black men were unfairly being killed, those same outlets and pundits refused to bring to light the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement report which came out in the wake of Trayvon being killed and showed how pervasive such killings were happening.. At the time many were fearful that discussions that brought up the police would anger Police Unions and thus have impact on 2012 elections.. Well November is behind us there should be no excuse for ignoring that report now..

There are some hard conversations around Race, racial profiling and the overall disregard and disrespect for Black life.. As this trial unfolds, lets step to the plate and have them. Let’s push for real change to improve our lot no matter what goes down with George Zimmerman.

-Davey D-

It Ain’t EZ by Dlabrie w/ San Quinn, Keyanna Bean and Aviel

D'Labrie San QuinnA year ago a young innocent black teenager named Trayvon Martin was killed because of the color of his skin, the cowardly killer has been thus far protected and coddled by the “law”.

Trayvon would be getting ready for prom and graduation and instead his parents mourn. RACISM and the attempted holocaust of Black people in America still exist in various ways (much of the damage has already been done) this is one of them although may seem suddle and coincidental to sum. ITS NOT ITS HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF..

As if there needs to be any more proof of the Black struggle in the US i guess we must still SPEAK LOUDLY and ACT even LOUDER to fight these types of injustice. dont think for a minute that slavery, black poverty, crack epidemic,, the mass incarceration of black people, the black death rate and Trayvon are not all directly related. Obama or not these things are often swept under the rug or dismissed as Conspiracy Theories.

So if hearing it from Malcolm, Angela , Bobby, Rosa , Nelson , 2pac , Queen Latifah wasn’t enough you gonna hear it from me too til im gone RIP Trayvon Martin and fuck Zimmerman and every other Zimmerman out there rather neighborhood watch, cop, teacher ,government official , confederate flag waver, kkk, skinhead, or just plain regular bitter racist around the way if you got problems with Black people then you got problems with me and all my fam and that includes all my people of many beautiful backgrounds and nationalities.

Its never been JUST A BLACK THING but divide and conquer works very well!! On this day dont get wrapped up in rhetoric and dont turn apathetic. Just play your role and acknowledge whats really going on here!! If i hear one more person blame rap and nba players and the illuminati and gangs IMA GO CRAZY JUST WAKE UP AND CALL IT WHAT THE FUCK IT IS!! WE AINT GOIN OUT LIKE TARGET PRACTICE & SHEEP!!

-D-labrie-

http://youtu.be/5yNUjJMP46A

One Year Ago Trayvon Martin Was Murdered..What Have We Done Since Then?

Davey-D-purple-frameOne year ago today 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by a wannabe cop who was serving as a neighborhood watch captain named George Zimmerman..

Trayvon was unarmed when he was profiled and confronted for looking suspicious even after police told Zimmerman not to pursue him… One year later after all of us wore hoodies and held up skittles, what has changed and where are we both with the case and the way we deal w/ violence, racism and our collective pursuit for justice?

What was bothersome was far too many caked off the Trayvon tragedy..It was a way to get camera time by expressing outrage, but the important follow-up was all but abandoned.. For example, there was a call to push back on ALEC.. The American Legislative Exchange Council which was primary engine responsible for putting Stand Your Ground Laws in effect all over the country. We made promises to dismantle it and stop the millionairs and billionaires like the Koch brothers from using it to their advantage and our detriment

Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin

Even if Zimmerman himself will not be using Stand Your Ground, it was the existence of this law that emboldened him to chase down Trayvon and shoot him..Have been people been keeping up w/ ALEC? Have they been following the work of Color of Change which is still in the mix fighting this?

Many have all but forgotten the case of Marissa Alexander, the young mother who was abused by her husband who in defending herself from another brutal attack shot a gun in the ceiling to prevent herself from being beat.. Her actions would’ve been in line w/ Stand Your Ground.. She is now serving 20 years for her actions..

The same DA/State Attorney, Angela Corey who is overseeing the prosecution of Zimmerman is the same DA who prosecuted Alexander.. She is also the same Angela Corey who made history by trying a 12-year-old in adult court..Her term is up this year..What’s the plan of action regarding her? Will she pursue the Trayvon case vigorously? Are we concerned about her mistreatment of Marrissa Alexander?

Jordan Davis

Jordan Davis

Since Trayvon we saw a repeat incident in Jacksonville Florida, when 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot and killed by a man named Michael Dunn who felt the unarmed teen was playing his music too loud. Dunn was finally charged w/ First degree murder..Davis’ parents are fighting ALEC and Stand Your Ground..They said they will crusade against these laws in honor of their slain son..Have we joined them? Do we care?

Since Trayvon there have been a rash of raced based vigilante attacks and killings from Oklahoma City on down to the some of the border states. For whatever reason many have not connected the killings of Brown folks by anti-immigrant Minute men types in places like Tuscon to what was happened to folks like Trayvon and Jordan..and before that, to folks in New Orleans who were shot and killed fleeing flooded areas after Katrina for higher ground..

Since Trayvon the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement issued a stunning report documenting extrajudicial killings by law enforcement and law enforcement types.. The report revealed that every 36 Hours a Black person was killed. What have we done to follow that up? Most recently a number of organizations met in Oakland to a packed house to update the findings and lay out a number of next steps to hold folks accountable and get justice.. Have we joined those efforts?

Stop the Violence March in Chicago

Stop the Violence March in Chicago

Right after Trayvon was shot there were some who were upset that folks had rallied his killing. Their rationale was Black folks kill each other all the time. They pointed to cities like Chicago as a glaring example of inner city violence..For those folks since Trayvon, what’s been the progress you initiated? Whats the orgs you linked up to that others can join? Whats the legislative path being pursued that others can help out on?

One year ago Trayvon Martin was killed. It angered us. It shocked us..It had us wearing hoodies..But if all we did was wear a hoodie after one year with all that has happened, I dare say we failed Trayvon and failed ourselves..What more needs to happen before the current climate is shifted?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKaJoEyYXyI

An Incredible Commentary: I am NOT Trayvon Martin

This woman goes in a drops lots of gems on this commentary around Trayvon Martin… She addresses the issue of race, white privilege and activism in the wake of Trayvon’s murder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBRwiuJ8K7w

Transcript:
I AM NOT TRAYVON MARTIN.
I AM NOT TROY DAVIS.

and to the middle class, white, socially concerned activist who wears a shirt emblazoned with those slogans, you are wrong.

I know you wear that shirt to stand in solidarity with Trayvon, Troy, and other victims of injustice. The purpose of those shirts is to humanize these victims of our society, by likening them to the middle class white activist wearing it. And once we’ve humanized the victims, this proves to us the arbitrariness of their deaths and thereby the injustice at play.

But the fact of the matter is that these men’s deaths are anything but arbitrary. The fact that the real Troy Davis and Trayvon Martin and countless other victims of oppression are buried under 6 feet of cold dirt while we middle class white activists are alive, marching, and wearing their names is an indication that our societal system is working exactly as it’s intended.

A more accurate t-shirt to display on my white body would be “I AM GEORGE ZIMMERMAN.” Zimmerman and I were indoctrinated in the same American discourse where we learned that the “other,” particularly black men like Trayvon and Troy, were less human and were to be feared. Society taught me that as a little white girl, I must preserve my purity and goodness, and that the presence of young single males threatened it. Society taught me that being in the presence of a BLACK man compounds that threat exponentially. I have been taught that male, black, bodies are an immediate threat to my safety and the well being of society as a whole, and Zimmerman was taught the same damn thing. We’re all taught it.

I look at George Zimmerman and think, “there, but for the grace of god, go I.” Had it not been for a decent education, intense critical thinking, and some truly excellent parenting, I would never have questioned the societal norms that Zimmerman and I were both taught, and I would have ended up feeling his attack on Trayvon was justified, just as he did, and the state of Florida does.

If we are to effect real change in the wake of Trayvon’s murder, we have to realize this. Realizing that you more closely resemble a homicidal oppressive force than a helpless victim is a really uncomfortable thing to do. I know. But wanting to identify with the victim is weak, and immature when it is not an accurate representation of reality. Real change is effected when we own up to our actions, our privilege, and our complicity with the system that murdered Trayvon and countless others.

Us privileged activists have to realize just how easy it is to be Zimmerman, and work to change this. Subvert stereotypes. Make it harder for others to buy into the bullshit that we’re fed our whole lives about race, class, gender, and other people by identifying and critiquing these messed up norms. Force adults to confront these norms, and raise children without indoctrinating them with the same old bullshit. Use your privilege to actively dismantle this messed up system. Listen to marginalized people like Trayvon’s family and Troy’s family and insure them access to the discourse. Listen to them, stand in solidarity with them. But do not, I repeat, DO NOT claim to be them.

 

Looking Beyond the Hoodie, even as Bobby Rush is Booted off the House Floor

Today Congressman Bobby Rush from Chicago got kicked off the House Floor for wearing a Hoodie. He like many others had dawned the attire to bring attention to the case surrounding Trayvon Martin. It was a noble gesture. It helps keep the case in the spotlight, but this has got to go beyond Hoodies. Too many of us are focusing on that and not some of the larger issues at hand.

For example, all of us should be asking; ‘whats the story behind Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee?’ Most of us protesting around Trayvon don’t  know his name. All we know is the police chief stepped down and very few of us are bringing him up in conversation and demanding he be brought to task? He’s just as guilty as George Zimmerman.

Sandford Florida Police Chief Bill Lee

Why was Chief Sanders and his department so sloppy with the initial investigation? Why didn’t they follow standard police procedure of collecting evidence like; keeping Zimmerman’s  gun and running ballistic tests or checking to make sure Zimmerman wasn’t high or drunk? We need to know why Standford police didn’t notify Trayvon’s family for after he was killed and his body was in the morgue.. Martin’s father found out after he filed a missing person’s report. We are just finding out that one of the early investigators wanted to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter. Why wasn’t that allowed to happen?

We need to know what’s the deal with State Attorney Norman R. Wolfinger, why didn’t he press charges? We need to know if there’s a connection with George Zimmerman’s dad Robert Zimmerman a former magistrate and the lawmakers here in Florida?

All of us should be asking those questions and when we see a Congressman like Bobby Rush wearing a hoodie on the house floor, he is not only asking those questions but ideally if he’s being escorted off  the floor it’s because he’s attempting to hold hearings where many of those questions can get answered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ougHdwR8PhI

We need to see Rush and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus hold more briefings and hearings like they did with yesterday’s  Protecting a “Suspect” Community: Racial Profiling & Hate Crimes. We need to see hearings on police misconduct. We can start with the frequent leaks coming from the police departments designed to smear Trayvon’s name. In many states, including Florida, they have in place a Policeman’s Bill of Rights. In many places those Policeman’s Bill of Rights make it difficult to get a hold of personnel files to review complaints against an officer  (I’m not sure if Florida has the same provisions as California where officers are shielded).

In any case all of us need to continuously connect the dots.. Trayvon’s killing can’t be seen in isolation to last week’s brutal vigilante killing of Shaima Alawadi in Lakeside California or the ‘drive by’ shooting death of Rekia Boyd by an off duty Chicago cop who claims he saw a man standing next to Boyd draw gun. Boyd was an innocent bystander yet her shooting was deemed justified even though the police found no weapons on the scene.

These incidents and scores of others need to be investigated. We need to make sure that these incidents are not connected to a larger more sinister plan of action. Are we experiencing co-ordinated and deleibarte terrorist attacks or are people just angry and acting out? Hopefully Rush and the CBC can lead the charge on Capitol Hill and start to really dig into those questions while we start looking into this amongst ourselves in our communities.

Lastly, lets not get caught up in the hoodie thing as if Black people are only suspicious when wearing them.. Try driving a nice car and your suspicious… Try walking around a nice department store and your suspicious.. Try cashing a large check and your suspicious..

Racist People are suspicious of President Obama, with or without a hoodie

This suspiciousness is rooted in racist people holding on to the notion that Black people not being in ‘their place‘ when they do something that defies stereotypes. This is why we see the racial attacks on President Barack Obama who is constantly under suspicion..We already seen the disrespect directed to him by business mogul Donald Trump, who demanded to see the President’s birth certificate. Even after it was shown, we now have Arizona sheriff Joe Arpiao conducting an investigation to make sure it’s not fake..

Sadly we are suspicious of each other..Long after this Trayvon/ Zimmerman thing dies down, even if he’s arrested and convicted, many of us are still gonna be running around not trusting the Black repairman, the Black lawyer, the Black accountant.. Black men will claim they can’t trust ‘skeezing, gold digging sistas and sistas will say they can’t trust these ‘trifling scheming azz’ men..and nobody trusts the kids..How do we intend to change that?.

Not to digress too much… Again we must be clear and push forward with justice and the dismantling of institutionalized racism and oppression as a goal. Our hoodies have got to be connected larger political agenda or understanding. Are we wearing a hoodie to show solidarity?  If so, who or  what are we in solidarity with? Are we wearing the hoodies as an act of defiance? If so what exactly are we defying?   All of us should learned the lesson of what happened after Obama got elected. His historic victory was quickly erased by this onslaught of racist killings all over the country. From Oscar Grant to Trayvon and beyond. If we’re not mindful of this, we will quickly find ourselves back at square one even if Zimmerman is carted off to jail for life or given a death sentence. Bottom line: What good is a symbol if its not connected to a larger politic and plan of action?

written by Davey D