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Racism in the american justice system
Racism in the justice system united states
Trayvon martin case summary
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In the summer of 2013, the world witnessed the American society display a major regress in racial socialization following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, a White-Hispanic American responsible for the death of Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year old African-American male who was killed in Sanford, Florida on february two-thousand and twelve. Zimmerman, armed with a 9 mm handgun, believed himself to be tracking the movements of a possible intruder” (Coates,76), however, Martin was simply a young male returning home after purchasing some skittles and iced Tea” (Massie,24). The country, dressed in mourning, expressed many of it’s rages in silence, but as soon as the Zimmerman, the shooter was found not guilty for stalking and shooting in the chest at point-blank range a young unarmed boy (Massie,24), the …show more content…
audacious case of Trayvon Martin shifted out of its national-grieving stage and slipped by into something darker and very racialized political fodder - something very familiar. Coretta Scott King, following the death of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr., addressed that “Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.”(Reggie et al.,24). It is absolute that this generation began to divulge its fight for liberation with the use of the ‘Black Lives Matter movement’, especially with the same goals that earlier generations fought for. The only historical difference seems to lie on the slogans of expression where, instead of shouting ‘Black Lives Matter’, activists would scream ‘Black Power’, ‘Black is beautiful’, or ‘Freedom now’. When three women revived liberation through the Black Lives Matter movement with the purpose to identify the minority as victims to racial discrimination, profiling and injustice, the issue did not lie with the fact that African-Americans are struggling against Whites or groups with higher privileges.
The real issue focuses on the idea that victimization is being utilized to propose anti-black or anti-minority sentiments. Let’s provide an example. The Trayvon Martin Case established an unfortunate but necessary strength for blacks to voice their opinions against the unfair justice that was issued for the seventeen-year old boy and his family. “As a young black male, he was described in court by a defense attorney as having power to turn the sidewalk into a weapon, and he was thus an obvious danger to the anxious neighborhood watchman following him with a gun” (Reggie et al.,25). Note that the defense attorney described Trayvon Martin, the unarmed boy, as being the fault of his own death because he, as a black male, had the power to utilize a small space as a weapon while being present in a white neighborhood which may initiate some sort of fear to the
killer. These discussions are examples of sentiments that ‘The Black Lives Matter movement’ is designed to fight away. Love for the blacks is lacking alongside other minority communities and it is essential that the moral and racial crucifixion of African-Americans in the United States is being prevented and fought against in order to give the ‘Black Lives Matter’ phrase a much greater significance than ‘Black Power’, ‘Black is beautiful’, and ‘Freedom now’, even if the goals are all equal.
The documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay, is centered around the argument that slavery did not end with the inclusion of the 13th Amendment in the United States Constitution. To enhance her argument, she includes interviews with well-educated authors, professors, activists, and politicians. She also tells the stories of African Americans who have been wrongfully prosecuted by the police and have not received the justice they deserve, including Trayvon Martin. This essay will analyze the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman scene in the documentary and how DuVernay effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos in the film. Duvernay includes the Trayvon Martin case to further her argument that slavery did not disappear with the 13th Amendment; it modernized into the American prison system.
On the night of February 26, 2012 “George Zimmerman who was the coordinator for his Sanford neighborhood watch association is charged with second-degree murder in the death of a young boy. Trayvon Martin, an unarmed high school student from Miami, Florida. (Alvarez) The case began in a small city of Sanford as a routine homicide but soon evolved into a civil rights case, examining racial profiling. On the night of the attack Zimmerman was told not to get out of his car when he was following Trayvon. He described Trayvon as a “guy who looks up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something” Trayvon had his back to Zimmerman the whole time he was on the phone with the Dispatcher, from what the conversation was saying. When the dispatcher asked Zimmerman “is the guy white, black, or Hispanic? “Zimmerman says that he “looks” black, Zimmerman still has yet to see if Trayvon was black, white, or even Hispanic because Trayvon was walking the other direction. Later on in the conversation is when Zimmerman said “now he’s just staring at me”. That would have been the right time to mention the race of Trayvon. As the dispatcher was asking mo...
The case involved a neighborhood watchman, who happened to be on duty when he saw a young black man wearing a sweater jacket called a “hoodie”, walking through the neighborhood. George Zimmerman, the watchman, who was twenty-eight years old at the time, called authorities about a suspicious character walking around in his neighborhood. The authorities told him not to do anything; just continue with his rounds and not worry. Zimmerman, however, decided he would take matters into his own hands. He confronted the young man; they got into a brawl and Zimmerman pulled out a gun and shot and killed Martin. That premise will play a role in this paper as an argument as to why George Zimmerman should have been convicted of committing a crime. Even if the jury could not have reasons to convict him of the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin; they had other choices.
In one incident when a white teenager Deryl Dedman ran over his truck over Black guy James Craig Anderson by passing a racial slur, “ I ran that nigger over” (Rankine 94)(10). This shows the white’s extra ordinary powers to oppress the black community and the failure of legal system
Some cases have very similar out comes yet the similarity in the Trayvon Martin and Emmett Till cases are eerily close. Both stories seem to be justified tragedies. They are similar in many ways like both teens being murdered on a visit to a family member, the murderers walking free, and the media being careless because of race. Except in the Trayvon martin case many people would like to say it wasn’t racially motivated. The two events happened so many years apart it is hard to believe they are so similar.
People in America are not all seen as equal, and this is especially true when it comes to people of color. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The continuous racial targeting of people of color and the privileging of whites, along with the misinformation about race passed along from one generation to the next and reinforced through the media, has imbued people of all races with a distorted sense of personal and group identity” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that people of color are often targeted in a negative way, which shows that racism and discrimination is something that can be passed down or learned from the media. Today, there are people who still think minorities are inferior based on the color of their skin. “Theories and Constructs of Race” also mentions how from an early age, minorities become the target for racism, blame, and overall hatred. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The myth of racial inferiority and superiority has been upheld not only by physical violence and discriminatory policies but also by the psychological violence conveyed through stereotyping and racist messaging” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that minorities are constantly targeted both physically and psychologically, which shows that inequality is a “monster” due to the damage it causes to individuals on multiple levels. Racism can also lead to internalized racism, which causes individuals to adapt a self-deprecating attitude and engage in self-destructive behavior. Furthermore, hate, racism, and discrimination often result from people not understanding that not everyone is offered the same opportunities due to the lack of
The sheriff of the town who witnesses such power struggles notes why white people continue to torture Black people, “There it is. America. You can see it right out our window. Church-attending, moral-living average men and women in all their glory. Normal people, they need something to hate. Something to blame for why things ain’t perfect in the world. Something to explain their fear” (Johnson 107). By blaming Black people, white people temporarily alleviate their own pain because at least another person’s world is worse than their own. This suggests that white people continue to torture Black people because they do not want to blame themselves for their own problems. Clearly, black people are made to seem inferior by the perceptions of different white
Who has been hurt? The victim is Rubin Carter, an African-American man falsely convicted and imprisoned for the 1964 murder of three white patrons at a bar. The police harmed Carter by basing their investigation on racial prejudice and coerced false witness statements. The prosecution/courts harmed Carter when the case was "predicated upon an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure” (Jewison, 2008). The harm created by retributive justice resulted in Carter’s wrongful conviction and incarceration. Carter was a prominent boxer and a hero to many African-Americans. In turn, his wrongful conviction harmed the African-American community at large.
On March 12, 2012 Bill Lee, the Chief of Police for Sanford Florida, explained Zimmerman had not been arrested because the police found no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s self-defense claim (Timeline of events: Trayvon Martin shooting case). Then the media decided to bully the state of Florida into bringing Florida by influencing public opinion. One of the ways the media achieved this was by making it seem like the reason there was no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense, and Zimmerman’s eventual acquittal, was because of the controversial law in several states, including Florida, known as “Stand-Your Ground.”
The primary thing that persuaded my current viewpoint on race relations was the George Zimmerman trial for the homicide of Trayvon Martin. This was a case that took place when I was relatively young, around the age of ten, so I feel that the event has shaped the way that I view racism today. My mother studied racism for her degree, so I was never particularly ignorant about the topic of race. However, the Trayvon Martin case was the first time in my life that I could remember a blatant and publicized act of racial injustice. Hence, it provided evidence and validation for all the things that I had been taught about race up until this point. However, it further influenced the way I viewed race because it allowed me to see specifically see the
I am writing to express my concern of the injustice of Trayvon Martin and would like to appeal about the decision of the jury after acquitting the neighborhood watch (George Zimmerman) who murdered an unarmed teenager after claiming it was an act of defense, but i will argue against this and prove that this was a murder case and not an act of self defense.
On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman, a volunteer with Neighborhood Watch in Sanford, Florida, called 911 to report “a suspicious person.” As part of Neighborhood Watch, his duties were to report all suspect individuals, vandalism, and crimes within the neighborhood. The suspicious person described was Trayvon Benjamin Martin, born February 5, 1995, and a 17-year-old African-American high school student who lived in Miami Gardens, Florida (“CNN Library," 2014). Martin was an unarmed teenager walking back from a 7-Eleven with a bag of Skittles and an ice tea, which he had bought at the store (Pearson & Botelho, 2013).
The main claim of the article is that African Americans have been treated unfairly throughout history and are still being treated unfairly compared to Caucasians. One of the reasons given in support of the claim is “In the early 20th century, civil rights groups documented cases in which African-Americans died horrible deaths after being turned away from hospitals reserved for whites, or were lynched — which meant being hanged, burned or dismembered — in front of enormous crowds that had gathered to enjoy the sight.” (Editorial Board, screen 3) Another reason given in support of the claim comes from the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saying “The dead have something to say to a complacent federal government that cuts back-room deals with Southern Dixiecrats, as well as to every Negro who has passively accepted the evil system of segregation and who has stood on the sidelines in a mighty struggle for justice.” (Editorial Board, screen 3) The argument consisted of several components such as quotes from famous activists and referring to historical events involving African Americans being victims. The components are presented in a certain order with the historical events coming first, the quotes from famous activists coming second, and the overall explanation of the Black Lives Matter movement coming
This case is about a 16-year-old kid from Miami named Trayvon Martin. On the night of February 26th, Trayvon walked from his father's house in a gated community to a nearby store. When walking back, he was spotted by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer. There have been a number of break-ins in the neighborhood over the last few weeks and Zimmerman thought that a young black man walking in the rain and wearing a hooded sweatshirt looked suspicious. Zimmerman then called 911 to report the person who "might be on drugs."
There are many who believe hate crime should be punished more severely since it ‘’has the potential to cause greater harm.’’ (Hate Crime Laws, 2014) Hate crimes, like racial discrimination, have unfortunately been a part of this country for centuries, racial discrimination was rampant in the 19th and 20th century, but mostly in the south; many segregation laws were created at the time ‘’that banned African Americans from voting, attending certain schools, and using public accommodations. ’’ (Hate Crime Laws, 2014)