(ThyBlackMan.com) Trayvon Martin, 17, equally a victim of perverse vigilantism and even more perverted justice when his killer, George Zimmerman, 28, failed to be immediately arrested—finally got his Gabrielle Giffords’ moment when President Barack Obama reached out to salve national pain and fury over the shooting of the unarmed teen by speaking in exceedingly personal terms about the case. President Obama integrated Travyon Martin into the hearts and lives of every American family when he stated: “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon Martin.”
Likewise, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum addressed the horrors and senselessness of Trayvon’s death, with Romney calling the incident “tragic” and Santorum expressing disbelief that the matter hadn’t been prosecuted.
In the black community, Trayvon Martin’s homicide is part of a long and painful legacy of vigilantism, lynching and intimidation against black men that has not been fully reconciled or cured, even with Barack Obama in office, our nation’s first black president. 
Just recently, Kendrec McDade, a 19-year-old college student and promising football player, unarmed, was gunned down by police in Pasadena, California. In February Ramarley Graham, 18 years old, again unarmed, was shot dead in the Bronx by police during a chase. It begs the question that why in the 21st century, such excessive deadly force is still being disproportionately meted out in the black community most often against black men and teens. What does this say about the value of black life in American society?
As the Hoodie has now become an international symbol of protest and solidarity against racial profiling and injustice, Trayvon has come to symbolize the continued struggle of African Americans, particularly black men, to be free from stereotyping and discrimination by law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
Trayvon Martin’s Gabrielle Giffords’ moment—an outpouring of public sympathy and support, a public recognition of wrongs—should be just the beginning of a very long and intense national dialogue about race and racial disparities in this country. The righteous indignation fueled by Trayvon Martin’s case, should result in a sustained call for justice and equality.
A great place to start in righting wrongs would be to have George Zimmerman arrested. According to Natalie Jackson, founder of the Orlando, Florida Women’s Trial Group and an attorney for Trayvon Martin’s family: “The stand your ground law doesn’t apply to this case because George Zimmerman gave up any right to claim ‘justifiable use of force’ when he ceased to be a lawful person . . . Zimmerman stalked and assaulted Trayvon Martin.
The two Republican writers of the law have said that George Zimmerman should be arrested. Jeb Bush, who was our Republican Governor in 2005, also said that this law does not apply for George Zimmerman’s defense.”
Siam Joseph, a seasoned criminal defense attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida, who formally worked for the public defender’s office in a county that neighbors Sanford, agrees that “the stand your ground law is not be applicable in Trayvon Martin’s case.”
According to Joseph the controversial Florida law: “encourages vigilantism and violent encounters rather than enabling self-defense . . . The stand your ground law is not a legitimate defense given that George Zimmerman hunted and gunned down the unarmed teen. Stand your ground only takes away the obligation to retreat if met with deadly force. In this instance, George Zimmerman was the aggressor.”
So with such seemingly cut and dry facts, why is this case in some kind of peculiar legal limbo? According to Joseph, by sending the case to a secret grand jury, instead of immediately “charging with information” and prosecuting—which would have been public—the Florida prosecutor has in some regards hampered a full and transparent resolution.
For instance, “in a secret grand jury, the public will never know what key evidence was admitted or omitted that could have been most favorable to the victim’s case,” says Joseph. If an indictment fails to be obtained, the prosecutor could then blame the grand jury; the case would be lost.”
Why has Sanford County left the homicide of an unarmed black youth unresolved? “From my experience working as a public defender in Orlando—a neighboring county— Sanford unfortunately, in my observation, has a racial dynamic and climate where such a tragedy and injustice could unfold,” says Joseph.
In my capacity as a writer and lawyer, I was recently on the Geraldo Rivera Show, 77 WABC Radio, speaking against racial profiling and stereotyping in law enforcement when the issue of the “menacing hoodie” as a contributory factor in racial profiling and ultimately Trayvon Martin’s death was made an issue.
The hoodie, a popular fashion accessory among athletes and people of all ages, is not the problem. Clearly the problem in this country is the “racial dynamic and climate” referred to by Joseph, where the senseless killing and persecution of black men continues and is even rationalized. For Trayvon Martin, and all of the Trayvons in our nation’s sordid racial history, this moment of self-reflection and contrition needs to continue.
Staff Writer; Joy Freeman-Coulbary
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