From an initial standpoint, it would seem as though the logic of the journalists covering the Zimmerman trial makes sense, as the jurors were women, surely they would hold an unconscious bias against a defendant accused of being responsible for the wrongful death of a child. However, the media personnel covering the trial failed to account for the socioeconomic factors that were occurring in tandem with obvious racial politics that ‘marked’ both the defendant and the prosecution, allowing the jurors to reach a verdict based on the alleged stereotypical roles they played during the events of the shooting. It is not to say though that any of the jurors were actively supporting Zimmerman because of his whiteness, but an assumption can be made …show more content…
From an initial standpoint, their membership on the jury may have suggested an effort to be impartial, but inherent similarities found between them provided a sort of ‘shelter’ that dampened any meaningful discourse concerning the details of the trial verdict. Superficially, an all female jury invokes an impression of a traditional type of feminism that is characterized by “peace, victimhood, and innocence”, traits that are linked to an idealistic sense of mercy that is related back to a general concept of womanhood. Their justification for Zimmerman’s actions comes from an experience commonly shared between most of them: motherhood, and the desire to maintain the safety of their own families and communities through surveillance, with one jury member even using the case as a cautionary example to warn her children when she first learned about it. They saw Zimmerman, who was a neighborhood watchman at the time, doing his job, simply adhering to the “. . . [definition of] the work of security as everyone’s [community member] job.” And their dismissal of Martin’s murder as just an “unfortunate accident” stems from a conscious comparison of pros and cons, a byproduct of a “ . . . [woman’s intrinsic] concern about security”. In Grewal’s essay, she cites Ellen …show more content…
And for most American women who have never viewed the experiences of outsiders as anything other than a disruption to their own, their inability to contemplate the racial context of modern American politics “reflects the extent of [their own] . . . victimization” (hooks, 119). Simply put, the socialization of (white) American women shields them from “confronting the reality of racism, and not just racism as a general evil but the race hatred they might harbor in their psyches” (hooks, 122), creating an “us vs them” dichotomy that is maintained through “the right to assume the role of oppressor in relationship to black women and black men” (hooks, 123) that is granted by the (white) patriarchy that in turn, oppress them through their feminine roles in society. So ingrained is this ideology that several of the women jurors rationalized the murder of an unarmed black child by assuming that the victim was just as responsible for the tragedy as the perpetrator, that Martin was “suspect”, and therefore it was his fault that he allowed himself to be profiled in a threatening way that would result in a (defensive)
A-In Zimmerman’s statement, he voiced concern for the community that he did not like that nothing could be done about these crimes and that the suspects were getting away. It would not be presumptuous to say that Zimmerman was frustrated by these situations and that he could only sit by and ‘watch’ as these crimes took place. Zimmerman was instructed by the 911 operator when he called in to report a ‘suspicious person’, to stay in his vehicle until authorities had arrived. Zimmerman disregarded the instructions by the operator and pursued the ‘suspicious person’ by himself. That ‘suspicious person’ was
The only problem, the media was producing the wrong conclusion for the audience watching which turned George Zimmerman into a hated man nationally. However, testimony and evidence has proved that Zimmerman was defending himself against an angry Martin. On March 22, 2012 a nationwide coverage of a Florida rally featuring Rev. Al Sharpton, was used to build racial tension in order to force Zimmerman to be arrested. When the phone call between the dispatcher and Zimmerman was released to the public, Zimmerman mentioned Martin being black which caused the nation to think it was a racial prejudice that caused the events to occur. Ultimately, this case proves that the media reports very biased and can control what viewers believe. On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown, an 18 year old black man was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a 28 year old white Ferguson, Missouri police officer. Before the altercation Brown robbed a convenient store where he stole several packages of cigarillos and shoved the store clerk to the ground. The police were called and nearby Officer Darren Wilson caught up with Brown when an altercation between the two began for the control of Wilson’s gun. During the altercation the gun was fired and Brown ran, with Wilson in hot pursuit behind him. When Brown stopped running he turned and faced Wilson and started moving closer to Wilson. Wilson then pulled the trigger and shot Brown multiple times before killing
Trayvon Martin lost his life on Sunday February 26, 2012 due to a gunshot to his chest shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida while walking back home from buying an Arizona and skittles from 7-11 at 6:34 pm. George Zimmerman spotted Trayvon walking through his neighborhood and found him suspicious and decided to call the Sanford police at 7:09PM. When he called the police he told them he found him suspicious, “I’ve never seen him in the neighborhood. I know all the residents. It was raining out and he was leisurely walking, taking his time, looking at all the houses.” (Linder, 2014). Police were immediately sent to his location but suddenly Zimmerman stated that Tyron had begun to run away and Zimmerman began to go after him. The dispatcher told him not to go after him and instead to meet the officers, “The dispatcher suggested that Zimmerman meet the arriving officers near the mailboxes.” (Linder, 2014) and he agreed to. Zimmerman later stated that when he was walking back to his car Tyron came at him asking what his problem was and he replied back saying he had no problem and Tyron then punched him in the nose after stating he had a problem now. The punch was what knocked him to the grass and Trayvon continued to punch him while Zimmerman kept screaming for help, “I started screaming for help. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t breathe.” (Linder, 2014). Tyron had been talking on the phone with a friend, Rachel Jeantel,
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.
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
The author of this paper explores the practice of demonizing black American males. The recent legal murder of Trayvon Martin and the New York City anticrime program called Stop-and-Frisk are used to illustrate how America, at the local level, continues to utilize legal measures to perpetuate the subjugation of black
Attorney General Eric Holder earlier gave an address to the NAACP on the Zimmerman trial. His oration was likewise not aimed at binding wounds. Apparently he wanted to remind his anguished audience that because of the acquittal of Zimmerman, there still is not racial justice in America.
As I watch my race under attack from fellow citizen of the United States, I begin to wonder what is considered adequate in the eyes of the law. Black lives that are under constant abuse with excessive forces with people that our countries says we are supposed to trust. For centuries the African race has been disrespected, scrutinized, and degraded simply because the color of skin. To be submitted to vigilant forces after so many lives were contributed to a world of peace. What some races whom seem deem to fit as adequate justification of forces is simply reprehensible. Black lives are currently being taken away from families with unjustifiable motives. Subsequently, the world has not been silent to this movement of extinction of black lives. Speaking up has now been crucial more now than ever and making a movement for change is a priority to black individuals who have a passion about the man or woman of color. Is the man or woman of color free when on an everyday basic a life is being submitted to death over situation that could’ve been handle in a humane manner? Black lives does matter, but in my
In just the past year, a major violent protests have arisen due to the shooting of Mike Brown unarmed African American teenagers and the death of several other African American teenagers. However, violence against African Americans is not new. “Assata: An Autobiography” follows the life of the Black revolutionary Assata Shakur specifically her experience in the criminal-punishment system after she was wrongly accused of shooting a state trooper. Assata is beaten, forced to endure inhumane prison conditions, and repetitively accused of crimes she did not commit, all in order to silence her voice in the Black liberation movement. Assata’s experience is an example of some of the reasons Statement by Critical Resistance and Incite! Women of Color
In an attempt to counter the racist claims of the defense, the jury was selected and was mostly African American females (Gaines 2001). The district attorney of Los Angeles believed that an all white jury would be ineffective if Simpson were to be found guilty (Thernstrom & Fetter 1996). This outcome of the jury selection upset the Caucasian population because they felt as though the jury selection gave Simpson the upper hand in the trial regardless of the fact that the jury was majority female. The defense counsel was able to control the jury, in a sense through instilling in their minds that the LAPD was in fact racist. At the trial’s conclusion approximately 83% of blacks believed that Simpson was guilty, whereas only 37% of whites believed that Simpson was guilty (Thernstrom & Fetter 1996). These allegations also pushed the evidence collected from the crime to be discredited as well.
The election of Barack Obama as the 56th president of the United States raised many hopes that the “Black struggles” was finally over. For conservatives, Obama victory reassured their beliefs that there was no longer such thing as racism and that every American had equal rights and opportunity to pursue the American dream. While many people have come to believe that all races have equal rights in America, Tim Wise argues in his documentary “White Like Me” that not only does racism and unconscious racial bias still exist, but that also White Americans are unable to simply relate to the variety of forms racism and inequality Blacks experience. This is mainly because of the privileges they get as the “default.” While Wise explores the variety forms of racism and inequality today such as unconscious racism, Black poverty, unemployment, inadequate education system, and prison system, the articles by the New York Times Editorial Board, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Adam Liptak further explore some the disparities in the criminal justice system. Ana Swanson points out in her article, “The Stubborn Persistence of Black-White Inequality, 50 Years after Selma” that while the “U.S. has made big strides towards equal rights,” significant gaps still remains between the two races. With the Supreme Court striking down a “portion of the Voting Rights Act that stopped discriminatory voting laws from going into effect in areas of the country with histories of disenfranchisement,” civil
With these mediums of oppression, her first theory, referred to as the Matrix of Domination is brought up. Previous models of oppression were considered additive, or hierarchal, meaning that they must be ranked. Collins uses the experiences of black women to explain that all these modes of oppression, gender, race and class are interlocking and equally important when viewing domination. This bleeds mores into Part II, but the essentials are discussed in this section.
For example, 76% of crime report in local news stations in Chicago depicted a black perpetrator for their leading stories (Entman, 1990). This coverage works to provide stereotypes on the assumption of black people as dangerous, sub-human, and inherently criminal. Moreover, in comparison to white criminals who were not shown in holding or mug shots, black criminals are frequently shown handcuffed in police holding (Entman, 1990) The association of black people with symbols of menace increases the apprehensive and negative beliefs required for systemic racism (Entman, 1990). As a result of extensive circulation of negative stereotypes, it becomes imbedded in the social psyche that violence and discrimination are reasonable merits to be employed against these people as they are seen as a threat to social stability. In effect, there is little accountability for violence against blacks by members of law enforcement and many officers are not indicted for the murder of blacks, or else face menial sentences (Chancey& Robertson, 2015). The underlying attitude of disregard towards black lives enables institutionalized racism, which is transferred to the general public, and is justified by the negative stereotypes fabricated by the ruling white class (Chancey& Robertson, 2015). For example, from “January 1
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.
Peggy McIntosh, chapter on “White Privilege, color, and crime,” encourages readers to think about the world in the framework of race, class, and gender on a “White privilege” perspective. McIntosh