The Trayvon Martin Case

Trayvon Benjamin Martin was a 17 year old African American from Miami Gardens, Florida. He was badly shot by George Zimmerman; a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman called 911 to report that there was “suspicious person” walking through the neighborhood. He was told to not do anything, but he did anyway. As he approached Martin, he attacked him and shot him straight to the heart. According to CNN, “Zimmerman acknowledges that he shot Martin, claiming it was in self-defense.” (“Trayvon Martin Shooting Fast Facts”). When the case was taken to court George Zimmerman was found not guilty even after he

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

Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the

Whether allowing Attorney General Eric Holder to dropped charges against the New Black Panther Party for intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place in 2009, to inflammatory comments made during the Trayvon Martin case and the Michael Brown shooting, Obama is always sure to let his true ideology shine through.

The shooting of Trayvon Martin is one of the most controversial incidents of the decade. Trayvon Martin was a young African American teen fallen victim to the evil of racial discrimination. One evening while walking home Trayvon was shot by a hispanic man named George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was on neighborhood patrol on a rainy day in Florida, and he noticed a black male walking through the neighborhood. He immediately jumped to conclusions and called the police who told him to leave the man walking alone because there was no need to follow him anyway, but Zimmerman did not listen. He confronted the young black male and after a little altercation Zimmerman shot the boy in an act of “self defense”. Zimmerman killed someone because of a profile created based on the color of someone's skin. Now besides the fact that a young boy was killed due to racial profiling, what’s even worse is the

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader, was driving to Target to run a errand on the night of February 26, 2012 when he observed a suspicious person, leisurely walking in the rain, looking at all the houses, wearing a grey hoodie as he would tell dispatch in his 911 call made at 7:09 p.m. Moments later an altercation occurred between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, which left Trayvon dead from a single gunshot wound to his chest and Zimmerman with a bloody nose and a cut to the back of his head. Zimmerman asserted that the shooting was done in self-defense because he thought Trayvon was reaching for his ( Zimmerman’s ) concealed gun and he feared for his life. Eye witness accounts of the event backed his claim that Trayvon was hitting him, but Rachel Jeantel, who had been on the phone with Trayvon,

The incident involving George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was one that caught the interest of many Americans. Trayvon Martin, a young 17-year-old African American boy, was shot and killed during a dispute between him and George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic man. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the community and he called the police after Martin was acting very suspicious by looking into people’s windows. Zimmerman claimed he acted out of self defense and he also had head injuries. This case is such a big deal because many people believe that Zimmerman only shot him because he was an African American. One aspect in society that is a prominent issue is racism or racial profiling. This case shows the controversy over racial profiling in America. This also ties into the theoretical perspective of critical race theory. Critical race theory involves inequality related to racism. The George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case accurately represents the issue of racial profiling in society today.

Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Sean Bell and unfortunately so much more were senselessly murder because of the color their skin. “Garner, an asthmatic father of six, was seen yelling, “I can’t breathe!” 11 times before losing consciousness and No one have been charged criminally” (Citation). In this quote from Eric Garner, he is fatally choked to death by a police officer , he yelled that he couldn't beneath and officer continued to applying pressure to his neck. George Zimmerman, had been found not guilty of shooting dead an unarmed black 17-year-old named Trayvon Martin (Citation). In this quote from cnn a unarmd teenage was walking home and George shot him dead and George Zimmer was acquitted from all criminal charges. The destruction of black lives needs to stop immediately. African Americans are being hunted down and they are using the color of their skin as a way of avoiding responsibility of their actions. African Americans should not worry about being killed when they walk down the street to buy some

It is one that everyone is familiar with due to its high profile coverage. Although this incident occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, it is very relevant to police shootings all over the country. As a short recap, police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown. Ultimately, Darren Wilson was not charged with any crime. Wilson, like many officers before him, argued that he was afraid for his life and therefore used his weapon in self-defense. Unfortunately, this argument has been heard many times after Michael Brown’s death as well. When Laquan McDonald was shot and killed in Chicago in 2014, Jason Van Dyke “feared for his life”; dash-camera footage, though, showed otherwise. Police personnel and city officials even went so far in this cover-up as to pay Laquan’s mother millions of dollars not to speak to the media about what happened. Although video of the shooting was available in 2014, the video itself was not released to the public until late 2015, after Rahm was re-elected to mayoral office. As more details surfaced, it then became clear to the public that not only did the officers and top law enforcement attempt to hide this incident, but the Cook County State’s Attorney was also involved. I argue that had there been more diversity on the force, or in the very least sensitivity training, maybe these officers would have seen a person and been more compassionate, instead of seeing a threat and

Even after two years passing, Trayvon Martin’s murder still escalates throughout the world. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed February 26, 2012 by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was the neighborhood-watch and said he thought Trayvon looked suspicious as he returned home from the store. He called the police to report his findings but disobeyed protocol given by the dispatcher. Zimmerman was told to wait for police to arrive and not to pursue Martin. The actions of Zimmerman and Martin remain unknown after ending the call. Police arrived to the scene of Trayvon Martin shot and killed with a bullet wound to the chest. In Zimmerman’s trial he was found not guilty to the murder of this innocent seventeen year old boy, Trayvon Martin. He claimed he reacted in self defense. George Zimmerman did not deserve a ‘not guilty’ sentence because of his assumptions without proof, poor judgment, and stand your ground law.

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.

No matter who we are, we are respected or oppressed. Yes, we do have a problem with systemic oppression, rape culture, role models, respectability politics, and mythic individualism. Just like Trayvon Martin was killed for simply wearing a hoodie, this is definitely an example of systemic oppression. Our society is shaped in controversial beliefs. Cosby believes that being a wealthy successful man, now makes him the best and doesn’t care about anyone else, but himself; therefore becoming a mythic individual and “thinking” he overcame respectability politics. Not only does this shape our whole society, but also lives by it, therefore, demanding for an immediate change in our social point of

Think of an example from the news where a person was treated unfairly and contrast/compare them to Steve.

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

The article of 12 year-old Tamir Rice puts the audience in awe again even after the incident regarding Michael Brown. As mentioned this event happened so close to the indictment of the police officer who shot Michael Brown so it has enraged the community. Rice was at a local park aiming his gun at people, someone reported it and when police arrived and try to talk to the boy he put his hand on his waist like reaching for the gun. The police officer took two shots, to which the boy later died in the hospital. When the police inspected the gun they figured out that it was a bb gun. (Bever, 2014) One can connect this case with that of Police Discretion, one may feel that the action that the police officer took but others might think it was uncalled for. Unfortunately, stuff like this happens often and some of the times the whole situation can be avoided if it is thought out before action is taken.