So by now, I hope you have heard about the Trayvon Martin travesty (if not, simply scroll down and educate yourself). Yesterday I participated in the "Wear a hoodie for Trayvon" day and watched the NYC march on TV. While hooded, I couldn't help but realize how isolated, targeted, and easily stereotyped black males are. There is no other segment of society that is as misunderstood and dissected as the black male. People either fear us, love us, or remain completely confused by our existence. We are constantly being identified inside and outside of our race. On one hand, if we sag our pants, use slang, defy authority, and run girls, we are acting gangster and tooo black. On the other hand, if we decide to wear Ralph Lauren and Sperrys, speak with diction, attend college, and listen to Vampire Weekend, then we are selling out and acting tooo white. However, the fact is, most black males actually straddle both identities. We are a complex group of individuals. The only difference is, we have to work sooo much harder to define ourselves. It has gotten to the point where we have become comfortable with conforming to these definitions.
If we are to learn anything from the case of Trayvon Martin, it is to never underestimate the power of the stereotype. We sit and blame rap culture for negatively influencing the behavior of our culture's youth; and this is a valid accusation. However, when will we critique the culture that has produced repetitive cases of discrimination and injustice on the black male ? What is it about our society that has shown a lack of compassion for the life of black men? Even the black male doesn't value the black male life (black on black crime).
I hope that the events of this case serve to remove the veil off the eyes of most of society. Let this be the beginning of a modern day civil rights movement for all of humanity. Let us begin to stand together against any act that diminishes the value of a human life. No life is worth more than another.
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