Voices
need you to do that.” He, a selfprofessed community watchman,
made assumptions such as, “This
guy looks like he’s up to no good or
he’s on drugs or something.” Zimmerman even had the audacity to
say “f__king punks. These a__holes,
they always get away.” Well, who
are “they”? The bottom line is, if
Zimmerman had not defied the orders of the 911 dispatcher and acted
on his own assumptions, Trayvon
would be in the loving arms of his
parents today.
When states failed us decades
ago, it was the federal government that stepped in with federal protections. Today, as we are
watching another grave setback
to justice, it is incumbent upon
the federal justice department to
investigate possible civil rights
violations in this case. One voice
distinctly absent from the court
proceedings the last few weeks
was that of Trayvon. His voice
will forever be silenced because of
the actions of one individual. On
that horrific day in February of
2012, Trayvon went to the store,
bought Skittles and an iced tea.
Young Trayvon, who had only recently turned 17, had a civil right
to go home. He had a civil right
to walk in that neighborhood. He
REV. AL
SHARPTON
HUFFINGTON
07.21.13
had a civil right to ignore some
lone civilian questioning him if
he wanted to. He even had a civil
right to defend himself if followed
and attacked by Zimmerman.
Trayvon had undeniable civil
rights that are to be protected
under the laws of this nation. We
must fight for those rights be-
“Last weekend was
upsetting and frustrating to
many, but we cannot remain
in a state of sorrow... we
must fight for truth.”
cause he no longer can.
Last weekend was upsetting
and frustrating to many, but we
cannot remain in a state of sorrow. While we continue to mourn
Trayvon’s death, we must fight
for truth. We may have lost the
battle, but the war for equality
has just begun. Together, we will
get there; together we will bring
light to the depths of dark injustice that still remains. We owe it
to a kid that just wanted
Skittles and an iced tea.
Rev. Al Sharpton is president of the
National Action Network.