I have been
silent on the Trayvon Martin case because I had no words. I only had an overwhelming
sense of grief. Someone said she was in mourning and then I realised that is
what I am feeling. Why am I so sad? Why
am I not angry? What am I grieving?
Trayvon Martin
wasn’t my son. My son is an adult but I think I see my son at 16/17 years old
in Trayvon Martin. I asked my son what
he would have done at age 17 if he was being followed by a strange male. He
said he didn’t know but he guessed he might run. I think that is partially
true. I think he would have run unless he was cornered then he would have
fought back.
The strange part
of all of this is that WE, the Black people, are still asking OURSELVES what WE
can do to prevent these things from happening again and again. Well, we could
change our skin color. Oh right, that is not possible. I think I just realized
part of what I am mourning. I am mourning the idea that a Black life in America
has any value at all.
Someone made the
comment to me that Florida has some f*cked- uped laws and courts. This was my response to him:
“if it was only Florida
I would be able to find the words to discuss it. But the reality is that this
case harkens back to the Jim Crow days when as a Black person you had to cross
the street or walk in the street if a White was walking toward you. Also,
a Black person was expected to lower their eyes and act deferentially toward
any white person for fear of being attacked or killed. Black mothers have been
telling their sons for far too long how to deal with the police. When a man
like Levar Burton has to put his hands outside the window of his car when he is
stopped by the police for fear of being shot, there is something wrong in
America. As much as I love my son I wish he had been born a girl. I would still
worry about him but I would not worry that some gun-toting wannabe will kill
him simply because he doesn't like how he looks. I am part of the first
generation to attend university and I think we believed that if we followed the
"rules" we would be treated according to the "content of our
character" rather than the "color of our skin". We were sold a
bill of goods and nothing proves that more than the lack of respect for
President and Mrs. Obama. This is a mistake for America. It is a mistake to
continue to discount and marginalize this segment of society. All we want to
equal justice. We want to be able enjoy our lives and our families without
living in fear. We want to NOT have to explain to our children especially our
sons how and why THEY have to change their behavior SO they won't be killed by
some rogue person on a power trip. The hardest part of all of this is...WHAT
ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TELL OUR CHILDREN/OUR SONS NOW?”
Almost every parent of
Black sons that I have seen is asking themselves this question. And we would
like to have a answer from the TPTB...WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO TELL OUR
CHILDREN/OUR SONS NOW? I am waiting to hear the answer.
