Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Hooded in America-Waiting on Just-US


As we converse about the murder of young Trayvon Martin many of us instantly become upset and anxious wanting to figure out what in the heck happened that day; collectively we have a million and one questions. As the initial shock is wearing off and disbelief continues I am beginning to see things a little differently. As I look deeper into our community for answers that would prevent another child from becoming a victim like TM, through my peripheral view I see something that needs to be addressed. But before I state my claim I will loudly express that I believe that Mr. Zimmerman is guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin, yes he is guilty of racial profiling and a litany of other crimes.

I'm just going to say it like it is- Under certain circumstances I may have suspected someone from any race or ethnicity wearing a hoodie as he did especially if they have the hood covering their heads and faces. Now wait, I'm not saying that was the case with TM and I am not saying that I would have reacted in the same manner but my awareness would be heightened.  Now before you swell up let me explain. How many times have we seen in our community where a crime is committed and the person is wearing a hoodie, how many times are we aware of a gun concealed in a hoodie worn by someone in the community and remain silent? How many movies do we love to watch that more often than not portray people of color as gangsta's wearing hoodies? The images are embedded in our cranial membranes.  I'm just saying. Gun totin' fools! Unless these folks have a permit to carry a weapon they shouldn't be armed, but that story is not this one, sorry for digressing. 

From state to state young black brothers killing other young black brothers all of the time for no apparent reason; they appear to have no value in life. They aimlessly kill our friends our family members or neighbors but somehow somewhere someone wants mercy for them, why. When the cops patrol the community for answers everyone is mum, "I ain't seen nothin" & "Snitches get Stitches" is the code of the streets yet our children or family and our neighbors die daily. Look around your community or the communities that you pass through and count the makeshift memorials that labeled the site where someone was killed, why. Just this morning in my town I saw on the news station where a Taco Bell was robbed by gun point and guess what they were wearing...a hooded sweatshirt with the hood over their heads. Here they are creating a negative relationship with a piece of clothing that is perfectly innocent.  Needless to say that those that know me knows I love to wear hooded sweatshirts they're comfortable and they feel good on my skin. By simply wearing one I can display my academia Alma Mata(s), my favorite WNBA teams or just being stylish, no complaints about them here. However, what I don't want to happen is for some silly behind person dawning one to participate in any covert-like illegal activities causing society to look at me with a crooked eye. Of course we can not stop anyone from wearing whatever they wish but something must be done. "They" need to know that even with all of the hate the community has stored up for Mr. Zimmerman and even as much as it hurts to admit, Mr. Zimmerman got his impression(s) from somewhere that unfortunately ended the life of Trayvonn Martin.  

Trayvon from what we know about him was a very nice young man a regular teenager whose death feels personal to every community, he very well could have been related to one of us. He could have been my grandson or your little brother/cousin!  My grand children and your little brother/cousin deserves to be able to live the best possible life they can with the support of the village they live in and abroad. We do not want their lives shortened by the next Mr. Zimmerman or the next wanna be gangsta' thinking that he is playing out a scene in Belly. I say to you this; protect your community with vigor & vigilance. Let us bring justice home to our blocks in our community and on our door steps. When we march for Trayvon let us keep in mind that we have to hold ourselves accountable just as we boil and wait for Mr. Zimmerman to be held accountable for his behavior. We must raise our voices collectively within our towns and cites. We must stop being silent, we have to insist on ZERO tolerance stance in our streets! We have to come together and squeeze out criminal mentalities in our cities. There is more than one problem here, obviously there are several but just as there are problems there are also solutions and the solutions starts with the wo/man in the mirror. Commit to your community, commit to non violence. Lets increase our attendance to public City Council meetings to represent your community show them that you matter that you care. Contact your local government stake holders and voice your concerns and show up when its time to vote! Get registered to vote, be present! Show up when decisions are made regarding your community that very well could be detrimental to the community. 

March for justice & save the children. 

Peace. 





No comments:

Post a Comment