I Am Trayvon Martin (Video)
I haven’t really said too much about the Trayvon Martin case via my blog. I did however express a few feelings on Facebook.
For me, Trayvon represents so many young black males, he represents my son. It’s not about a hoodie, it’s not about a bag of Skittles or an Arizona Iced Tea, this case is about racism, this case is about the value of human life.
It takes one incident for people to take action. So many people have said “Trayvon Martin is no different from all the other black boys being killed” so they choose to not take action, they called those who stood up for this young man “bandwagon jumpers”. But before the bus boycotts that were stemmed from Rosa Parks, there were other blacks forced to give up their seats. What people fail to understand is that it takes a spark to ignite a fire and in this case’ Trayvon’s death was that spark.
Let us not forget the crimes that take place in our own communities between our own people. I have seen so many people; influential people within my community turn their backs on the Trayvon Martin case/movement. Stating things like “you aren’t fighting for such and such” but what they fail to realize is that attending these rallies and speaking up for injustice would have given them the forum they needed to spark their own cause for justice, to get people to remember those that they have not found justice for. Being the leader of the night scene means nothing when you are not a leader for the community. I have also seen so-called community activists turn their backs on this cause as well. For some reason this young man’s life is not worthy of their self-righteous efforts.
I am so proud of those people who have been there to support this cause, so proud of those that decided they weren’t taking it anymore. Now it is time to apply this same anger and effort to our own community, it is time to start protecting those that have died on our own streets and speak up for their justice. If we do not value the lives of our own people; what will make others value their lives? Why are we so angry when a Hispanic or white man kills one of our own but we are not equally as angry when we kill one another?
Change begins with self and at home. We have to stand by one another and build our communities up; become a strong force. We are considered the minority but we do not have to have a minor mind set. We must teach one another, praise one another, support one another and protect one another.
We gained our freedom and our rights because people took the time to stand up and unite for what was right; some even died for what they believed in. So while you wallow and waste the freedom that you were born into, think about those that fought for that freedom, those that died for that freedom.
Will my words fall on death ears like so many before me? Maybe so, but who am I to remain silent...
And...It Is What It Is
For me, Trayvon represents so many young black males, he represents my son. It’s not about a hoodie, it’s not about a bag of Skittles or an Arizona Iced Tea, this case is about racism, this case is about the value of human life.
It takes one incident for people to take action. So many people have said “Trayvon Martin is no different from all the other black boys being killed” so they choose to not take action, they called those who stood up for this young man “bandwagon jumpers”. But before the bus boycotts that were stemmed from Rosa Parks, there were other blacks forced to give up their seats. What people fail to understand is that it takes a spark to ignite a fire and in this case’ Trayvon’s death was that spark.
Let us not forget the crimes that take place in our own communities between our own people. I have seen so many people; influential people within my community turn their backs on the Trayvon Martin case/movement. Stating things like “you aren’t fighting for such and such” but what they fail to realize is that attending these rallies and speaking up for injustice would have given them the forum they needed to spark their own cause for justice, to get people to remember those that they have not found justice for. Being the leader of the night scene means nothing when you are not a leader for the community. I have also seen so-called community activists turn their backs on this cause as well. For some reason this young man’s life is not worthy of their self-righteous efforts.
I am so proud of those people who have been there to support this cause, so proud of those that decided they weren’t taking it anymore. Now it is time to apply this same anger and effort to our own community, it is time to start protecting those that have died on our own streets and speak up for their justice. If we do not value the lives of our own people; what will make others value their lives? Why are we so angry when a Hispanic or white man kills one of our own but we are not equally as angry when we kill one another?
Change begins with self and at home. We have to stand by one another and build our communities up; become a strong force. We are considered the minority but we do not have to have a minor mind set. We must teach one another, praise one another, support one another and protect one another.
We gained our freedom and our rights because people took the time to stand up and unite for what was right; some even died for what they believed in. So while you wallow and waste the freedom that you were born into, think about those that fought for that freedom, those that died for that freedom.
Will my words fall on death ears like so many before me? Maybe so, but who am I to remain silent...
And...It Is What It Is
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