Will Anything Change Now That Trayvon is Dead?__Big News Race Stories

Here are my thoughts on the so-called Trayvon Martin Case.

In case you haven't heard, here is a summary of what happened to Trayvon:

On February 26, 2012 a Florida man named George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.  Trayvon was black, wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag of candy, an iced tea and a cell phone.  Something about the way Martin looked as he walked toward his father's girlfriend's house made George Zimmerman see him as a potentially dangerous person.  I've heard many people say the only thing Trayvon could have done to keep Zimmerman from following him was to have been non-black.

Zimmerman listened to his instincts and called 911, describing Martin as someone suspicious.  Even after the 911 operator told Zimmerman "We don't need you to" follow Martin, Zimmerman pursued the teenager and engaged in a confrontation (the details of which are still unclear), which ended in Martin's death.

Zimmerman was not arrested.  The local police department justified the lack of an arrest by citing the Stand Your Ground Act, which (although it is a very complicated law that has not been interpreted with much consistency) basically gives immunity to a person who uses deadly force against someone they believe is trying to kill them.  It's ok to kill your attacker as long as you think they're trying to kill you.  Obviously, there are a number of loop-holes and questions that this law brings up, which is why many people are calling for the Stand Your Ground Act to be changed and for George Zimmerman to be convicted of murder.

I'm certainly interested in justice for Trayvon.  I want the laws and law-enforcement agents to be fair to all U.S. citizens, but this post is not going to be about that specific case for justice or about changes to the Stand Your Ground Act or other political changes that need to be considered.  This post is going to attempt to discuss what Reverend Al Sharpton called "the real problem" (quote can be found on this broadcast).  The real problem is that racism is institutionalized. 

Melissa Harris-Perry has produced a number of important and interesting broadcasts on the Trayvon Martin case on her MSNBC show, but this discussion with Rev. Al Sharpton, Kenji Yoshino (Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law), Tim Wise (anti-racist writer and activist) and Richard Cohen (President of the Southern Poverty Law Center).

I am challenged by Tim Wise's comments about institutional racism.  Certain stereotypes and assumptions are so internalized that, he says, we don't even register them at a conscious level.  They are deeply ingrained in our psyche so that even "1/3 of black folks have internalized biases against their own group". 

Because of this rampant institutionalized racism many black children grow up in the U.S. learning how to appear less suspect -- the insinuation being that they are born suspect because of the color of their skin.  As Corey Dade explains in this NPR broadcast, black children may be told not to loiter, argue with police, or even, "never leave a store without a shopping bag for fear of being suspected as having shoplifted".  The idea is that if they follow these rules, they will appear less "suspect", less "feared".  Dade indicates that this teaching can be done "without instilling any kind of inferiority complex or a sense of paranoia".  However, I have my doubts.

This past Saturday I took my favorite 11 year-old to the library.  She wanted to get on the adult computer, so we did.  We searched for different Internet educational games (she recently landed in the 80th and 90th percentile of those who took the State's Standardized Test :) ), however after about 15 minutes, they weren't stimulating to her.  So, of her own volition, she started to search for information on Trayvon Martin.  Since this lovely 11-year-old is black, I suddenly found myself in a position to either use Trayvon's death to teach her about how to protect herself, or to teach her about how assumptions can be deadly.

In truth, I do not want this case to encourage black parents to tell their little black children that they have to be more careful.  I want change!  I want this case to cause parents to tell their little children "Don't make assumptions!"  There's all this talk about Trayvon's death starting a movement.  I hope it's a movement of the heart, which can continue to change our internal, institutionalized, sub-conscious thoughts and actions. 

All my life I've wanted to adopt a child.  I've thought a lot in recent years about the possibility of adopting a black child (I'm a bit sorry to say that Brangelina and Sandra Bullock probably have influenced me).  "Raising a black child with two white parents would do a lot toward tearing down racial prejudice" I thought, "Everyone would see that whites and blacks can live together happily and love each other -- and if the next generation sees mixed-race families, they won't be racist anymore!  Problem solved!"  This weekend, however, I gave some serious thought to the positive aspects of having my own child -- or at least raising white children.  Perhaps part of my responsibility as a white woman is to raise up white people who don't fear black people.  And, truthfully, I can do this without even having children of my own.  In my own life, I can make the following choices: I can use a Bible with pictures of a black Jesus when I teach children at Sunday School.  I can invite the college students at the college I work for to consider black American plays, art, and dance.  I can (gasp) take white and black children to the zoo together.

I'm going to end with two bits from the Melissa Harris-Perry Show.  One is from Tim Wise and one from Melissa Harris-Perry herself. 

In response to the anthem "I am Trayvon Martin" and thinking about our internalized racism, Tim Wise said, "For a lot of us, we're probably a lot more like George Zimmerman and we have to be honest about that if we're going to move forward".  Love that.

Finally, Melissa Harris-Perry presents her "Guide for How White People Can Talk About Trayvon Martin".  This.is.really.great.