Opinions
Chaos in America: The Race Factor
by Wayne Woodard
It was a midsummer’s day in July of 2013 when Florida juror’s found George Zimmerman, a self-proclaimed neighborhood watch associate, not guilty in an incident which led to the death of Trayvon Martin, a Black-American teenager. At 17 years old, I don’t think I understood how precious or fragile life was in this country. At 17, Trayvon Martin would never get the chance to learn any of this or gain the wisdom only capable in adulthood to understand such things. Sometime in August of 2014, we were struck again with a police shooting that claimed the life of another young Black-American teenager, 18-year-old Michael Brown.
America is yet again thrust into the global spotlight with a recent series of deaths drawing attention to the strained race relations in America. One thing that both of these incidents have in common, is that they both involve young unarmed black youths being gunned down by members of other ethnicities. George Zimmerman was Hispanic. The police officer involved in Michael Brown’s death, Darren Wilson, was white. Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old carrying a fake gun, was shot dead by a rookie cop. Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Black-American choked to death by a white police officer, showed that these deaths were not exclusive to black youths.
I haven’t even mentioned the incident where 17-year-old Jordan Davis lost his life at the hands of a white man who became incensed at the loud music in his vehicle. Nor have I mentioned the porch shooting death of Renisha McBride, who died at the hands of a “frightened” white man while trying to get assistance following an accident. The courts provided lengthy sentences against the shooters in those cases, however, that isn’t the case with the others mentioned above. But, would stiff penalties, indictments, or even retaliatory violent protests truly solve the deep seeded racial divide ever present in America?
Constant talk from aging community leaders and even the White House, promises change and investigative actions. But, time and time again, questionable incidents continue to occur against minorities across the country. The media frames the discussion in a way to ensure high ratings and high drama. It’s interesting to see many major news networks grapple with ways to tie all of these incidents together. The problem is that these were individual lives. These were blacks who had the world ahead of them. These were blacks who died, partly because of laws, societal misconceptions, and skewed morals born from historical mistruths.
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