Today would have been Trayvon Martin’s nineteenth birthday. I wish I didn’t know that. I wish there were no reason for me to know this information. I wish Trayvon Martin was some random guy in Florida that I would probably never have the pleasure of meeting, let alone wish a happy birthday. But I do know about Trayvon Martin. And I think about Trayvon Martin. And I am grateful for Trayvon Martin. Happy Birthday Trayvon Martin.
When the verdict was read, I felt it in the gut. I’m usually not emotionally invested in trials. I believe this was a first. I didn’t even know I was invested until the “not guilty”. I was stunned and disappointed and hurt. And angry. But mostly hurt I think. Because Black men in America had just been given confirmation that their lives don’t matter. Are not valued. That’s the message I received. You are not valuable. And I guess that’s the message we’ve always received on some level. Our country has relied on this notion of inferiority being taken for granted. We don’t all believe it. But we are working a system that is held together by it.
I’ve been meaning to start a series of “White Privilege is…”posts. Both here and on the youtube. So this is gonna be the first one:
White Privilege is going to the store for skittles wearing a hoodie and not being followed. Or harassed. Or shot. To death.
mulatto diaries 
How sad….and utterly true is your assessment. As a mother, it says to me in general, that the fruit of my womb is worthless, and, if it is a Black male child, it is perfectly fine and reasonable to annihilate him.
Your post socked me in the stomach! Trayvon was just 6 years older than my twin sons. Such a gut-wrenching story from start to finish, and a story so many people didn’t care about. Those of us who parent males of color care in a way that many others can’t begin to appreciate. Our sons are ‘marked’ from birth by virtue of the color of their skin. There is an absurd notion that Black men are dangerous, scary, and to be on the safe side, when in doubt, shoot first and ask questions later.
I wonder if the shooter, George Zimmerman, has nightmares about what he did. He knows the truth, in his heart of hearts…… he murdered this young man. Against Police advice, Zimmerman CHOSE to stay outside his car and engage Trayvon in a scuffle which left the unarmed teenager dead. UNARMED, Mr. gun-toting Zimmerman! Mr. Neighborhood Watch program-coordinator for your gated community man. Did you feel justified in your ‘victory’ over this young man? After all, you may have averted, say, some vandalism you IMAGINED Trayvon might do. Or was it that you secretly had an itch to do some vigilante justice against any vandals that had struck within your gated enclave, and in your mind, this black teenager in the hoodie HAD TO BE GUILTY OF……SOMETHING? Mr. Zimmerman, what inanimate object did you save that was worth more than this young man’s life?
You may have been acquitted of Trayvon’s murder by a jury, Mr. Zimmerman, but I know in the grand scheme of things that your life is over, too. You live with the knowledge that you took an innocent boy’s life…..a life that was just starting and which held such potential. You live with the horrible fact that you played God…..and lost. And you live with the terrible truth that you committed a senseless, unnecessary murder. There are no do-overs here. What you did is final, and Trayvon’s blood screams out from the ground for justice. Your day will come, Mr. Zimmerman, and what a great and terrible day that will be. I pity you, Mr. Zimmerman. Your life is over, and no jury can change that fact.
thanks for the comments, ladies. “glad” i’m not the only who feels this way.
I not been able to find anything on you since the march 5 of this year, but please keep this good work up” I myself have suffered from the hands of stupidity and unappreciated color association” just one day people of mixed colors be rep what god intended until then let’s hope that the dark and extremely light get it together”