Racially Provoking Language

Lundman (2003) pointed to the fact that “not all murders…are selected for coverage by news media (358).” And, that “when murders are selected, some receive frequent and prominent attention, while others receive infrequent and obscure coverage (358).” In fact, during the time frame of George Zimmerman’s trial there were other murders involving race and gender. One can only wonder then, “do some homicides therefore receive more attention and others less because of the race and gender of the actors involved (Lundman, 2003, 358)?”

One night in a Florida gated community a young man named Trayvon Martin, was walking down the streets of a mostly white community, stopped by George Zimmerman who was a neighborhood watch resident.Mr. Martin was stopped for being “suspicious” and “up to no good” according to Mr.Zimmerman. Trayvon was fatally shot by Mr. Zimmerman out of “self defense”. Really “Self defense” he was carrying a bag of skittles and a Arizona Tea. This young man was nothing but harmless but was victimed for being African-American.George Zimmerman would rather later stand trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin was found not guilty,until April 2012 he was found guilty of second degree murder.Although there are positives and negatives of this argument, the Black Lives

On February 26, 2012, an apparently innocent teenager was shot as he walked home through his neighborhood late at night. The Trayvon Martin killing and trial has recently been one of the primary topics covered by the media in America. The response to the news coverage of the case has been staggering. Students have organized hoodie marches and created Facebook groups to protest the unjustified murder of the young man. However, is the American public as well informed as it pretends to be? Americans have an unsettling susceptibility to manipulation from the media. In 1991, a similar event occurred in the case of the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, where Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, had his personal affairs put on display for

Henry Giroux’s “Hoodie Politics: Trayvon Martin and Racist Violence in Post-Racial America” is an opinion piece written by a renowned cultural critic. This writing is meant to draw attention to the way American society treats its poor minority youth. Giroux’s audience in this circumstance is the readers of the left-wing magazine, The Smirking Chimp. With most of his readers being liberal, he does not have to try hard to convince them that his argument regarding the mistreatment of poor minorities is correct.That being said, Giroux is attempting to get his audience to consider the wider societal issues that cause the unequal treatment of black and brown youth. Giroux employs the case of Trayvon Martin to showcase society’s bigger issues surrounding the institutionalized racism directed towards the “disposable” colored youth.

Just for wearing a hoodie, carrying an Arizona Tea and for being black he was shot and killed. In the book “Deadly Injustice: Travyon Martin, Race, and the Criminal Justice System“ the authors go on to discuss what happened that night and in the trial that preceded. It also helped me deliberate with how certain deaths are portrayed online. This being one of the biggest cases to hit the news and was brought to almost everyone in the United States attention, even the President at the time made a statement about what had happened to this young man. Social media spreaded this article like a wildfire and soon everyone knew what had happened that night in Florida. One of the main reasons why it was difficult to convict Zimmerman of this crime was because of the “Stand your ground” law After this the tension between black males and police officers rose to an even higher extent. African Americans often feel as if they are treated by police unfairly and with situations like this happening it help supported how they felt. Additionally with cases like in Ferguson and what happened in Lousivelle when four innocent teens were accused of robbing a woman with a weapon where they were later found not guilty of the

Media bias is displayed repeatedly in news coverage of black tragedies and in the persecution of black bodies. From protest following the non indictments of cop killing unarmed black men to the uninformed persecution of the BlackLivesMatter movement, mainstream media is constantly standing in opposition to anything that threatens the status quo. My five articles assessed said media bias, and if that bias whether negative or positive affected the African-American community.

When he was writing the Declaration of Independence, he argues, “For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial.” (Jefferson 199) He also argues how they would deprive them from cases because they would send them overseas to be trialed. Today, many citizens are still not able to get a fair trial. In this case, George Zimmerman shot an unarmed boy but was acquitted on all charges. The reaction of the trial had many opinions on how the criminal justice system. The Washington Post states, “Some of the reaction to the trial — among both blacks and whites — stems from wildly different views of the role of race in the criminal justice system more broadly. Fully 86 percent of African Americans say blacks and other minorities do not get equal treatment under the law.” (Cohen) There are so many unfair trials because of race, religion, financial background, and sexual orientation.

The OJ Simpson murder case was an event that transfixed the nation over 20 years ago, with everyone who was around back then having some recollection of the whole ordeal. Today, that same case in entering back into the public consciousness, as a new television series dramatizing the events, entitled “The People vs. OJ Simpson”, just premiered. In an op-ed for the New York Times, John McWhorter pens an argument that the case was symbolic of race relations between the police and the African-American community. McWhorter, an African-American, goes into detail about how he did not understand why his community was cheering back in 1995 about Simpson being acquitted. McWhorter even believed that Simpson was guilty. However, he does now

In the article Sha’kema Blackmon and Anita Thomas spoke about election results thought that most African Americans viewed the death of Trayvon Martin as a race-related event (Gabbidon and Jordan 2013; Pew Research Center 2013). This online investigation tested African Americans, opinions on the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin and how it relates between Black racial identity groups. Each test taker had multiple reactions, also being asked question about whether Trayvon Martin’s death was racially motivated. The groups talked group and three black racial identity groups were listed. Group 1 was made of each person of the different Black racial identity attitude types. Group 2 was made of each person who tries to put separation between students of African-American and Caucasian to an end and who wants everybody to be together.

It took 45 days of protest for the killer to be arrested.The trial that followed the arrest was watched with interest by the nation.There was a survey taken in July 2013, 78% of African Americans believed that the case raised important issues about race that needed to be discussed, as compared to 28% of white Americans.Nearly 6 in 10 African Americans reported following the trial compared with only 34% of whites, with 63% of blacks claiming that the trial was focusing on a conversation that was talking with friends.But theses only give a little sketch outline of the killing of Trayvon

“Sticks and stones may brake my bones, but words will never hurt me”, goes one old playground rhyme. We are usually taught to ignore a person who uses foul language, but everyone knows that words can really hurt a person. When someone uses hateful words against us, it can hurt just as much as a slap or a punch. When people start to use obscenities with ethnic or racial slurs, it can push some sensitive buttons. Racial slurs used in a joking manner leads to others using it in a condescending manner, which ultimately leads to violence and feelings of hatred. From my experience, racial slurs can cause the most extreme negative reactions in people.

Imagine. It’s a dark February night in Miami. You step out to your local convenience store to grab a couple of snacks. On your way home, you realize someone is following you. After you confront the person, a scuffle breaks out, and it results in your parents having to bury you at a cemetery. This was the unfortunate story of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Martin was killed walking home from the local convenience store only armed with a bag of skittles and an iced tea. After being followed George Zimmerman, a local neighbourhood watch volunteer, Martin decided to confront Zimmerman. The end result leaving Trayvon Martin dead and George Zimmerman a free man. The story of Trayvon Martin proves the point that racism will is still alive and

A voice is beautiful, as well as deadly. In this free nation, the ability to articulate one's thoughts and opinions is not limited, nor is it prohibited. When people rally together and express their synonymous thoughts, change happens. With a voice, we can defend ourselves against prejudice as well as false accusations. It is such an influential weapon, however, the Asian and Pacific Islander community thus far has not had a chance to actively exercise this right.

The first reason that many see as proof of how the justice system has failed is because of racial profiling. For example, Trayvon Martin, a black 17 year old with a pack of Skittles and Arizona tea was shot by a white male. Nadra Kareem Nittle from About.com states that “On Feb. 26, 2012, a neighborhood watchman named George Zimmerman gunned down the 17-year-old shortly after telling police that he’d spotted a suspicious youth in his gated community in Sanford, Fla. Because the 911 call suggested that Zimmerman had followed the youth around before shooting him and that the teen had done nothing suspicious other than to wear a hoodie, the public loudly protested when Sanford Police declined to arrest Zimmerman, 28, after he claimed to have shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense. An overview of the Trayvon Martin shooting, quotes and reactions from public figures about the tragedy and biographical information about the slain youth and his killer help to put the case into perspective.” This

Zimmerman perceived Trayvon to be a dangerous threat to the person of a different race but in reality he was a young boy with a hoodie over his head and skittles in his pocket. Staples personal essay relates to this story because when he walks into a store or down the street people would look at him in a different light. Just because he is young African American man walking down the street or into the store doesn’t mean he will steal, kill, or rape someone. Instead looking down on people of other races than our own, we other need to be optimistic because not everyone is the same. People shouldn’t have to change their demeanor for other people not to be scared of them because of what they look like or their race.