When the Supreme Court recently struck down key segments of the 1965 Voting Rights Act while upholding the rights of groups whose claims for equal treatment were grounded in the legislative and judicial victories borne of the Civil Rights struggle – brought about by and soaked in the blood of African Americans who fought, bled and died for those basic American rights – I knew.
So, when I saw a known murderer receive a verdict of “not guilty” because his victim had only been a boy with black skin who dared to wear a hoodie, much like the Justin Biebers of the world wear and are considered “cool” for doing so, I knew.
Ideas and standards of justice in this country continue to be disproportionately influenced and determined by the race of the perpetrator and the victim.
A 2003 Amnesty Report, “US: Death by Discrimination – The Continuing Role of Race in Capital Cases” (April 2003) stated that “Even though blacks and whites are murder victims in nearly equal numbers of crimes, 80% of people executed since the death penalty was reinstated have been executed for murders involving white victims.”
In other words, if you kill someone with white skin or if you are involved in dog fighting with pit bulls, you are likely to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law in the American judicial system. However, if you kill one of our sons or daughters with black or brown skin, it is likely to be deemed understandable that you may have been justifiably afraid of these people due to their black or brown skin. Hence justice may already have been served.
Read: Bishop TD Jakes Shocked By Trayvon Verdict
Zimmerman Verdict – Where Do We Go From Here? was originally published on elev8.com
