The Trayvon Martin Tragedy

George,

why are you following me?

TELL me what i did wrong?

what is it about my RACE that’s got you suspicious,

AGITATED and acting all vicious?

I’m just a YOUNG man, going down the street

trying to grab some skittles and some ice tea,

But you’re acting like I’m a VIRUS

infecting your community.

and instead of engaging in dialogue

you OPTED to open fire

now I’m deceased, looking from the sky,

and you’re still free…

I’m asking myself why?

when will justice come?

this isn’t just about me

because the longer you remain out,

the answer NEVER

could very well be.

Last Words

© April 2012

Dedicated to Trayvon Martin and any of our youth impacted by injustice.

I wrote this piece over a year ago when word first broke out about the murder of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman.  I couldn't understand why after what he had done, it took so long for them to bring him into custody.  It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Yet, I post this poem again--as a reminder that Justice still has not been properly served.

The unfortunate thing is I was having a conversation with one of my friends, and I told him, "I have the sinking feeling that Zimmerman is going to be acquitted.  It's not a verdict that I want to see, but the prosecution is making too many mistakes.  My hope is that if he is found innocent of second degree murder, at least have him guilty on one of the lesser charges."

I turned in a bit early Saturday night, so I wasn't up when the verdict broke.  However, I was greeted with the fallout when I got on my Facebook today.

George Zimmerman not guilty!  Not just of second degree murder but of the lesser charges as well?

Self defense?  Are we serious?

All of the evidence clearly showed there was no way the self-defense thing was even possible.  I just don't get how Zimmerman could have been fully cleared!

I just don't understand why there would be sixteen hours worth of deliberation as to whether a murder took place.  Zimmerman murdered someone's teenage son.  I would think the main deliberation would be which charge to hit him with and how much time he would spend locked up, not to get that man off completely free!

Even then, it wouldn't have taken sixteen hours.

I'm not trying to make this about race, but let's keep it real:  Would there have even been all this if Trayvon was white?  The police would have picked up Zimmerman immediately!  The verdict would have come back a lot faster.  It might not have even taken two hours.

The thing that makes me just as sad and outraged as the verdict is how certain people responded to how the verdict came out.  

Sure, people can agree to disagree.  There are some people out there who believe the acquittal was the right decision.  

The responses I saw were disheartening.  

People telling other people to "calm down; it isn't that serious."  People celebrating victory on other people's statuses who are hurting over the verdict.  These people do this behind a computer screen, but I bet those same people wouldn't be brave enough to come in someone else's face with that madness!

Those same people wouldn't be saying the same thing if it happened to their children.  How dare they come on someone's status, wall and think being that asinine would be all right?  

A person has the right to say what she wants to say on her Facebook page.  If you (people who thought the Zimmerman outcome was just) have something to say, why not say it on your own page?  

Why debate with someone how she should feel about the situation?  You think by doing that, it is supposed to make the other person feel better?  No, it just shows how much of a douche you are--that you don't truly realize that the imbalance, the injustice still continues.  In this country, there's only JUSTICE for SOME.

There's no debating a DEAD BODY!  Trayvon is dead!  This outcome shows there's still no justice for him and other children who have lost their lives due to being unfairly profiled.  

America is still going in the wrong direction.  It's like we take a few steps forward (Supreme Court ruling on DOMA) but take many steps back (invalidating key parts of the Voter Rights Act of 1965).  It shows we have to be the primary protectors of our children because the justice system continues to be an epic fail--not just for Trayvon Martin's family but for other families.

They are in my prayers.