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Zimmerman acquittal angers black leaders

China.org.cn, July 15, 2013

• Black leaders in the United States expressed their fury over the acquittal of George Zimmerman and called on the authorities to pursue a federal civil rights case against him.

  Protesters take to streets to show their disappointment with the verdict of George Zimmerman.

  A Florida state jury Saturday announced Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, not guilty of his killing of African American teenager Trayvon Martin.

  He shot dead 17-year-old Martin, who was unarmed, on the night of Feb 26, 2012.

  The verdict sparked varying sizes of protests in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta and Philadelphia.

  The jury believed that Zimmerman acted in self-defence when he killed the unarmed black young man last year.

  However, he was recorded in a call to police using the words "fucking punks" and "these assholes, they always get away".

  "When you look at his comments and when you look at comments made by young black men who lived in that neighbourhood about how they felt especially targeted by him, there is reason to be concerned that race was a factor in why he targeted young Trayvon," enjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) said in a CNN interview on Sunday.

  Jealous said he had talked with "senior members" of attorney general Eric Holder's team and expressed hope they would continue to work on the case.

  "They will review all that comes out in that, and then they will make a choice about whether or not they will pursue criminal civil rights charges," Jealous said in a CNN interview.

  "The reality is in these types of cases where there are very serious questions, we know there will be a state phase, there will be a civil phase almost assuredly and then there will be a federal civil rights phase."

  "We're upset with a situation in this country where as black people, as black parents, it feels so off that our young people have to fear the bad guys and the good guys, the robbers and the cops and the self-appointed community watch volunteers who think they're keeping folks safer," he said.

  "Today, justice failed Trayvon Martin and his family," said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP, in a NAACP statement issued on its website following the verdict of Zimmerman. "We call immediately for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into the civil rights violations committed against Trayvon Martin. This case has re-energized the movement to end racial profiling in the United States."

  "We are outraged and heartbroken over today's verdict," said Jealous in the statement. "We stand with Trayvon's family and we are called to act. We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed."

  "We lost a young man due to senseless violence, but justice did not prevail," said Adora Obi Nweze, President of the Florida NAACP State Conference, in the statement. "Last year we pushed for the arrest of George Zimmerman and a thorough investigation and trial. Today, we are still called to act. No one should be allowed to use this law to commit a senseless crime again."

  The NAACP is the U.S. oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization.

  " This is another tragedy for Black families everywhere, and another instance of how law enforcement and our criminal justice system routinely fail Black people and communities," Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org, U.S. largest online civil rights organization, commented in a statement on its website.

  "Were it not for Trayvon's family and countless supporters taking action, Zimmerman would have never faced a single question about his actions at all," said Robinson. "Tonight, as George Zimmerman walks away without penalty, the verdict sends a clear message about the minimal value placed on the lives of young Black men and boys everywhere."

  "And it is also a clear lesson about the power of culture and media to shape negative perceptions and attitudes, with grave consequences. Since Trayvon's death, widespread media coverage has perpetuated inaccurate and dehumanizing stereotypes of Black youth -- the very kind of depictions that have served to excuse unprovoked violence against young Black men by and boys for years," said Robinson.

  "Throughout this trial, we've endured a steady stream of media attacks on Trayvon Martin -- an innocent, unarmed teenager who was profiled, stalked, and murdered on his way home from buying candy," said Robinson.

  "By amplifying unfounded claims about Trayvon, news media magnified the very same racial stereotypes and false perceptions that put Trayvon's life in danger in the first place, while ignoring his family's rightful pleas for justice. Numerous outlets have been passing along unfounded, baseless conjecture as evidence, and reviving deep-seated stereotypes to validate Zimmerman's defense," said Robinson.

  "This type of newscasting portrays Black teenagers as inherently threatening and violence-prone, but it's actually the unfair and dehumanizing portrayals in the mass news media that are proven to be life threatening to Black men and boys,"said Robinson.

  "We already know that inaccurate media portrayals lead to warped biases against Black people, which lead to negative attitudes and aggressive, harmful treatment by judges, juries, police and others vigilantes wielding dangerous preconceptions like George Zimmerman," said Robinson.

  "In a media environment that continues to cast Black men and boys as thugs, it's not surprising that the tragic death of an innocent young man has become a character trial for Black people everywhere," said Robinson.

  U.S. president Barack Obama said in the statement that the death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Noting that "this case has elicited strong passions," Obama said those passions may be running even higher in the wake of the verdict.

  However, the president added, the jury has spoken and made its verdict. He called on "every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son."

  "We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities," said Obama, adding "we should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis."

  "We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this," said Obama.

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