Justice - Racial Profiling

An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Racism is still very much present in contemporary society, and today, I learned that the hard way.

I came across an article on Yahoo earlier today that disturbed me incredibly. A 17-year old African American boy was shot and killed, after the Neighborhood Watch Captain deemed Trayvon Martin “suspicious”.

Trayvon was at a relative’s house, in a gated community in Suburban Orlando, watching the NBA All-Star game, when he left to pick up some snacks. Walking back, six residents from the gated community called the police, including George Zimmerman, the captain of the Watch team. Police informed them not to act, and that they would arrive shortly to assess the situation.

That wasn’t enough for George Zimmerman, who, after a physical confrontation, put a bullet in Trayvon’s chest. He never got to see the second-half of the All-Star game. Zimmerman, who was never even arrested for his actions, is free, because this is considered “self-defense”.

Trayon Martin

I bring this up because I’ve been particularly inspired by a movement that has captivated all of us recently. The Kony 2012 campaign fascinates me because its purpose is so pure. Two days ago, barely anyone knew who Joseph Kony was, or why he was a threat to humanity and justice, now 48 hours later, millions are aware, and that’s just it! Nothing is more powerful than informing and creating awareness, it cause people to take action! Although they do ask for donations to fund their operations, the Kony campaign isn’t about money. The purpose I seen out of that video was that if more people know about Kony, than more people will want to see his demise. When celebrities and politicians alike use their power to spread this message, more people will demand this issue be resolved. Intervention has proved powerful. Capturing Joseph Kony and putting him on trial will be the first step in capturing the world’s criminals and bringing justice about.

And so it is just that which is what I am trying to convey. People need to be aware about Trayvon Martin, and his killer should be brought to justice. Now I don’t know if the colorful bag of skittles in Trayvon’s hand was mistaken for a gun, or maybe it was the can of Arizona Iced Tea, but certainly, nothing he could’ve said or done should’ve caused for his life to be ended.

I’m going to keep it short and simple, before we get excited about stopping Kony, which is no doubt something we should do soon, let’s fix the injustice here in our own backyard, because an injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.