Today was the National Day of Action for Trayvon Martin, but if you missed the noontime rally in Downtown Hartford, there is another opportunity to let your voice be heard.
On Monday, July 22nd people — who are being encouraged to wear black hoodies or t-shirts with supportive messages — will gather at Lozada Park (at Seyms and Mather) to vent about the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. Cornell Lewis, one of the action’s coordinators, said this is also serving as an opportunity for people to “design strategies to address racism/bias.”
Connecticut is far from Florida, but Lewis said that local “people feel angry about Trayvon and need to be heard.”
Recognizing this anger, Lewis is working with Rev. Henry Brown, Mothers United Against Violence, and others in what he says is “an effort to keep the people from doing anything disruptive as it relates to the Zimmerman verdict.”
Monday’s short march will end at the Black Buffalo Soldier’s grave site.
Tom
The verdict wasn’t the problem. Given the evidence presented, and the standard of proof, it was probably the right one. Anybody who thinks that the rules of evidence or the need to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in cases where the defendants are bad people is just not thinking clearly.
Moreover, we do not have an epidemic of dumb white vigilantes killing young black men in this country. What we do have is obscenely punitive drug laws. What we have is a militarized police culture that sees Americans as a foreign population resisting occupation. What we have is representatives who are pathetically addicted to counterproductive “tough on crime” measures. What we have is media that breathlessly recycle 300-year old myths about minorities as dangerous savages. What we have is a prison system that in too many cases is run for profit, and you can’t make profits with empty cells. What we have is local governments that cannot be bothered to provide decent housing or competent education. What we have, frankly, is a majority that that doesn’t mind all this. And of course we have thousands of young men whose communities, families, and their own choices have left them without the resources to refuse to play the role so many people want them to play.
So no, I won’t protest the verdict. What will I do? I’ll vote for anyone who promises to shift funding from the Drug War to drug treatment and social services, or who promises to rein in odious laws like the crack-powder disparity or mandatory minimum sentences. I’ll try to address– gently, and with good humor — instances of racism that I meet in my daily life. I’ll look for political leaders who will oppose corruption that starves constituents of needed services. I’ll support authors like Radley Balko (“Rise of the Warrior Cop”) and filmmakers like Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”). And I’ll try not to get discouraged when none of this seems to be helping.