On a number of occasions, I have had to pause in terms of my discussion of Natural Hair on this blog, to discuss matters that supersede the purpose of this blog. As a mother and wife that has raised two beautiful children along with my husband, of which one of them is a young Black male, I have stopped in my tracks to acquire information and try to understand the travesty that is taking place in front of my eyes regarding Trayvon Martin. As I look at all of the pictures of him, plastered over all forms of media with his family, in his sports attire throughout his childhood and beyond, and just being a beautiful Black child, my heart breaks to know that he was shot in cold blood and the person who committed this atrocity is walking around freely, and an arrest has not been made.
It is such a miscarriage of justice that it is unfathomable. To know that this young boy had no weapon and that all that was found on him was skittles, a cell phone and an ice tea and that he was shot in cold blood reminds me of an old film, that made my heart wrench as a child when I watched it and opened my eyes, once again, to the fact that a Black young man can be killed, senselessly and for no reason, while his family has to go through gut wrenching experiences, subsequently, to get justice. The film was Cornbread, Earl and Me. I cried as a young girl when I watched that film, knowing that it exemplified reality, realizing that my young brother was not safe walking around on the street, as he too could be a victim of a senseless murder due to the color of his skin. I knew this to be a reality, based on many cases of this nature, but the film brought it home, in living color for me to contemplate at a very young age. I feel the same pain now as I look at my beautiful children and know that my young son is walking around in a society in which he is vulnerable to such an atrocity, although he has done all that we and society at large has required of him. You see, Trayvon never had an encounter with the police, never committed a crime...essentially none of those things in which society would be able to say, he deserved this, although no one deserves it, no matter what! Trayvon is our current day Emmet Till. We must wake up completely on this one. We cannot deny what is happening here. We can not turn away from it, ignore it, justify it, explain it, rationalize it or try to make sense of it. This is an unconscionable situation that requires justice. I personally, will use my voice and my words to express my concern about this atrocity because I believe those are my strongest tools to express my dismay. Trayvon did not die in vain. It is not possible or acceptable. Every being comes into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Obviously, in this case, there is a reason that this young man is now known to each and everyone of us. Let's lift up his family and through our voices and whatever we have to offer, that represents our strength, let the world know that there must be justice now for the family of Trayvon Martin. His spirit is strong because he is waking up a nation. Let's feel that spirit and Move!
