The Volcano People, And The Water People

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

The poem “No Country for Black Boys” by Joy Priest represents the sorrowful incident which happened on February 26, 2012 for Trayvon Martin in Florida. Trayvon Martin was an innocent African-American young boy who bought iced tea and some skittles. On the way back to his father’s home, he got shot by the neighborhood watch and treated as a victim because of his skin color. Guilt was not defined by what Martin did but by what he said, also it determined something deep-rooted in the young age. No weapon was needed to identify him as a victim. He is a young black boy, so he is already guilty enough to be killed. Black people have the same rights as the other people, however in reality, America’s society discriminates against them compared to other nationalities.

A few years ago, a young man by the name of Trayvon Martin was killed after being stalked by a neighborhood watch leader by the name of George Zimmerman for looking “suspicious” meanwhile being unarmed and returning home from a visit to the local convenience store. Trayvon Martins death sparked outrage among the African American community.

This poem is a tribute to the well-known abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and gives a cause and effect analysis of the allowance of freedom to African Americans. For this reason, this poem can be interpreted very specifically to the African American struggle for civil rights and search for the true understanding of attaining freedom. The sense of exclusivity in this poem can come from lines such as, “…this man, this Douglass, this former slave, this Negro….” (1067) The words presented in this line such as “Negro” immediately strike the reader as specific to the African American race, and, therefore, transforming the entire poem into a poem directed toward a specific audience. The struggle for freedom post-emancipation was uniquely highlighted in this poem. African Americans still felt extremely subservient in relation to the white population, and Hayden clearly noted that feeling in this strong piece. The piece can solely be seen as a tribute that offers relatability for those African Americans of the time period. It can also be interpreted as a relatable piece for African Americans of any time as related to the historical essence of their lives. This piece may seem exclusive, but it can also offer much

Although the deaths are confined to one location, the experiences and events are relevant across America and is representative of modern cases such as Trayvon Martin. The first theme the poem address is stereotypes and prejudices people have of African Americans. The voice described what the victims were wearing or doing during their time of death:

My reaction to this poem was being stunned of how many rights were limited towards those who were colored and what dark times they had to face before being accepted to live like normal people. This was a crucial lifestyle they were living and there’s no way that humanity can ignore this crisis because it’s part of our history. I never really understood how imperative black history until I read this heartbreaking poem of a lifestyle of an individual. It depicts how she lived an awful life as a black person in society and it hurts just knowing the fact that just because your different colored in society doesn’t mean that you get treated differently too. There was so much unequal benefits the had to face on a daily basis, so many limited right to the point where the future

Claudia Rankine can best be described as a Jamaican American poet who is constantly “challenging notions of what poetry should look like.” (Leszkiewicz) Spending most of her life in a predominately white neighborhood, Rankine is an advocate for black lives and notes in one of her poems “by transforming the slain black body into a public spectacle, America is able to observe such tragedies at a distance.” (Rankine) By discussing what people are uncomfortable to discuss, Rankine provokes the questions most have in mind about racism. By believing that “we are making progress, just not at a rate that’s saving lives”, Rankine takes note of the role racism plays in the 21st century, and how although it seems like it is slowly dying, it is not dying at the rate of black deaths. While changing the norm of poetry, Claudia Rankine expresses her racial views, and what it means to be black in America today.

The incident, captured on video by onlookers, incited protest, unrest and arguments similar to those that would swirl around the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida a few years later. The deaths of these and other African American young men (Mr. Grant was 22) touch some of the rawest nerves in the body politic and raise thorny and apparently intractable issues of law and order, violence and race. (Coolger,

The Martin killing and trial had recently been one of the primary topics covered by the media in America because Zimmerman was set free (WLRN.org). Before Zimmerman can be charged with a crime, there were several considerations that were proposed: murder, manslaughter or hate crime. Per Florida Statues “the penalty for any felony or misdemeanor shall be reclassified as provided in Florida Statute §775.085 if the commission of such felony or misdemeanor evidence prejudice based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, mental or physical disability, or advanced age of the victim” (leg.state.fl.us). For Zimmerman to be found guilty of second-degree murder, the jury must be persuaded that Martin’s unlawful death was done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent (leg.state.fl.us). To be considered the charge of manslaughter, the jurors must be convinced that Zimmerman intentionally committed an act or acts that caused Trayvon Martin’s death (leg.state.fl.us). The definition of a hate crime was a crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice; typically, one involving violence (Oxford

According to a biography on Biography website, Trayvon Martin was an unarmed American 17-year-old killed by George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. He spent his third school suspension with his father. Due to the burglaries in that area, there was a neighborhood watch that was established in 2011. Zimmerman was one of the residents was selected as a program coordinator. He patrols the streets and is licensed to carry a fire arm. From August 2011 to February 2012, Zimmerman reported “suspicious guys” to the police and they all happen to be black males. On February 26, Zimmerman reported to the police of a “suspicious guy” and the dispatcher told him not to get out of the car and follow Martin. Zimmerman disregarded the instructions and followed Martin anyway.

Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is a collection of poetry and criticism that challenges us as citizens to think about the fixity and ordinariness of racism as experienced by people of color who are often rendered as non-citizen subjects by society today. Many of the poems are structured around the daily forms of racism that many people of color experience. The poems remind us of the multiple ways black bodies have been and continue to be assaulted—even in ways that are not observed by the media. The irony of those who oppose the killing of people of color is that members of the same public perpetuate many of the racial motivated crimes themselves, and they are the ones that decry the most extreme form of racism, murder.

He shot Trayvon Martin due to “self-defense”, that is what he told the police officers once they arrived. Zimmerman ended up facing no charges for what he had done to him. Later on the people created an All Lives Matter Movement and that was specifically going towards the Black Lives Matter Movement and to say that all lives matter. All Lives Matter movements intentions were to go against Black Lives Matter. There were different perspectives of how people viewed the All Lives Matter Movement. Some of the viewers viewed it as a movement to unite all races and did not want a separation in the races. This all leads to the question, is All Lives Matter a positive or negative movement? The All Lives Matter movement is a negative movement because

According to the Negro Holocaust, The United States has a brutal history of domestic violence, especially the violence committed against Negro citizens. Negro citizens have been victimized by racism, lynching, and beatings due to their inferior status. According to “Is Affirmative Action Fair?” there have been various practices motivated by racism such as slavery, job discrimination, and segregation. These practices have left African Americans with additional “negro problems” correlating with the color of their skin. According to The skin Color Paradox and the American Racial Order, skin color is associated with an individual’s preference as well as their outcome. Although many African Americans try to overcome their struggles, according to Perceptions of and Preferences for Skin Color, Black Racial Identity, and Self- esteem Among African Americans, while many dark-complexioned African Americans view their skin color proudly, others are ambivalent and view their blackness as a “mark of oppression” (Kardiner & Ovesey, 1951). This “mark of oppression” has come from the way African-Americans have been treated as a whole and throughout the various poems, we will understand exactly what it means to be an African-American. Throughout these poems, we are given the opportunity to witness the ignorance of the Black culture, the tedious roles performed by force as well as the crucial victimization and death. African American people are only visualized as a color that is a

Emmett Till was just a fourteen year old boy in 1955 when his life was viciously take from him. He had reportedly flirted with a white woman while visiting his relative in Mississippi. His attackers took him out of his family’s home in the middle of the night, and tortured him and then eventually disposed of his body in the Tallahatchie River. After his body was discovered, his mother insisted that his body be sent home to Chicago in order for the family to bury him. At his funeral, his mother had an open casket so everyone could see what had happened to her poor boy. Racial violence, as expressed through music, imaging, and poems, is a problem that continues even today and reflects America’s challenging history with slavery and segregation.

Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman. He was walking down the street with his friends then a policeman pulled up and started looking at them strange. So his friends took off running and Trayvon tried to run but he had shot him once. Well I think it was racism because George Z. was white and Trayvon M. was black and he shot him for no reason because he wasn’t doing nothing wrong. And I think it was racism because Trayvon M. wasn’t messing or picking with George Z. so he didn’t have the right to shoot