I risk repeating a lot of things that have already been said
by people much more brilliant than I am, but I found myself deeply moved by the
Zimmerman-Martin Case. However, I
do not want to argue for or against the judgment. I merely want to reflect on the ramifications and reactions
of this country’s public. Also, I
hope my parents don’t mind me putting them in the spotlight a bit (it’s okay
Mom and Dad, only like 20 people will read this!)
I have been reading articles and blog posts about this case
all week.
I was especially moved
by this particular blog:
http://wearenottrayvonmartin.tumblr.com/.
If you have the time please read
through some of the posts.
They
are very interesting and convey poignant views of the present racial situation in
America.
I am not Trayvon Martin. I never will be.
I am as pale as a full moon and have hair that is redder than Lightning
McQueen’s paint-job. I am probably
the least intimidating person you will ever meet. I grew up a privileged, white, Christian, male in Dallas,
Texas. My childhood looked like the 90s version of Pleasantville. I have lived in a white
bubble my whole life. I went to a
private school that was 95% white.
Those students who weren’t white were well-spoken middle-class
kids. I have never been a friend
with a Trayvon Martin. I’ve never
really known one. I’ll be honest;
I get a little nervous around people who come from the “rough side of
town.”
My parents, who are products of their generation and
upbringing, raised me to be respectful to all people. Both my mother and father are great people. They would never turn away somebody in
need because of their skin color.
My mother volunteers in West Dallas at a school made up of all
African-American and Hispanic children and teachers. My father is a loan officer who has helped many non-white
people go from poor, starting out entrepreneurs to successful small business
owners. With that said, I was
raised apart from people with different culture or different skin color. And like many privileged white citizens
of Dallas, my parents are not comfortable in the “bad part of town” or in
neighborhoods that clearly aren’t majority white. I would be lying if I said I was not like that myself. I have been raised this way.
So whether George Zimmerman was attacked by young Trayvon
Martin and was justified in self-defense or whether he stalked the young man
and was looking for an opportunity to shoot the kid doesn’t matter
anymore. In my opinion, the real
issue is that this guy George Zimmerman felt threatened by a black kid wearing
a hoodie walking through his neighborhood. If it had been a group of white teenagers would he have done
the same thing? It doesn't even matter that Trayvon was not a Boy Scout or an honors student, and from his text messages it is pretty clear he was a troubled youth. However, there was no way George Zimmerman could have known this just by looking at somebody. The kid currently being tried for the Boston Marathon bombing was well liked and a good student.
I think about my
neighborhood back home: Highland Park.
I’ve seen groups of kids walking around or driving down the alleys at night. Sure some cops or people might give
them hell if they were being rambunctious, but for the most part nobody would
give them a second thought. Then I
thought, what would happen if a black man was jogging through Highland Park
wearing a hoodie and sweats? I’m
only dealing with a hypothetical here, but my first impression if I saw such a
person would be “well you don’t see that everyday.” I’ve thought a lot about this. It’s really sad that would be my first reaction. If it were a white guy, I would not
even think about them, let alone glance at them. However, the fact that somebody’s skin color makes me react
differently to him or her means that, well, I’m racist.
This past fall I did my senior history thesis paper on
American racism in the turn of the 20th century, and how it affected
American foreign policy in the Philippines during the Spanish-American
War. As somebody who has grown up
in the “old Confederacy,” racism has played an important role in my hometown’s
history. Thus, the history of
race-relations has always fascinated me.
Though until recently, I thought of myself as outside of this issue. It was merely an academic
interest. Surely, people weren’t
really racist anymore. People of
different races were free to swim at the Highland Park pool. They could use the same restroom as me
at a Rangers game. As I studied
the issue more, I came to the realization that white people are still separate
but equal from Black, Hispanic, Arab, Indian, Asian, Native American, or any other people with skin color other than white. We are separated
by experience, economic conditions, and culture.
I don’t know if the authorities at Westmont College had a
good sense of humor or if it was merely a modern day miracle, but my freshman
year I roomed with a Chinese immigrant student named Ted (that was his English
name, his birth name is Geng Li).
I remember my first reaction was that of excitement and pure
terror. I was not scared of living
with somebody whose second language was English; I was more worried about my
own ignorance. I realized I had
never really spent extended amount of time with somebody raised in a completely
different culture! It was a year of
learning for myself and it was a ton of fun. Ted taught me so much about listening and redefining what it
meant to be American.
I was raised in a culture that expects me to succeed. This is very different than the culture
of say a poor Hispanic kid from Pleasant Grove grows up in. I never saw gangs or was pressured to
be in one. I had parents who got
on my case every night to do my homework and would help me if I asked
them. As a small child, my parents
made it clear to me I was going to college, and it was the only option for me
after high school. I am very
grateful for all of these things.
How many people from Oak Cliff, Irving, Farmers Branch, Pleasant Grove, or
even parts of Plano share this experience with me? I have never been given any reason to not trust law
enforcement. The only time I was
pulled over was because the police officer thought I was too young to be
driving. I’ve never been frisked
for drugs randomly. I’ve never
been “randomly selected” for extra screening at the airport. I’ve never been pulled over for
evidence that I am an American citizen. In 2010, black non-Hispanic males were incarcerated at the rate of 4,347 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents of the same race and gender. White males were incarcerated at the rate of 678 inmates per 100,000 residents. Hispanic males were incarcerated at the rate of 1,755 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. The
only reason I am not Trayvon Martin is circumstance and genetics.
It is true that brave people such as Rosa Parks and Martin
Luther King Jr. have made great strides in regards to Civil Rights. However, there is still a long road
ahead to equality. Dr. King always
acknowledged that. If there is one
thing that I have learned from history, it is that traumatic and violent events
or institutions such as slavery have their effects felt for centuries. The Jewish Diaspora, I would argue, is
still showing effects even today.
As Christians, it was left to us by Jesus to be advocates for the weak,
poor, and oppressed. Time and time
again the American white Church has failed those who could use their
support.
So that has left me with the question what am I to do about
this? I don’t think the answer is
to go into the ghettos and preach the Gospel. I believe that white churches everywhere should come out and
support the peoples’ assertions that racism still exists and admit that it has
contributed to the problem. The
time is now for the White Church to begin making amends for the support of
slavery and segregation. I believe
my place during this time should be one of submission. I believe that as privileged white
folk, we should merely hear out what the other has to say. We should acknowledge their experience
as legitimate. I will be working
on my personal prejudices. I will
work on rejecting racist views or comments. I will work on my reactions to people of different skin
color. I hope that maybe through
these actions I might become a recovering racist.
Racism is America’s greatest demon; it has been since its inception. It is time to confront it whether you
are Christian or not. There is good news though. America has shown promise in the past for change regarding racism. However, today's racism is not merely political and legal in nature. If America is to change, all of her citizens must stand together and demand change in one voice.