I don’t know what is saddest, the unnecessary loss of a young life, the destruction of another man’s existence or the pathetic manipulation of the event by extremists for their own purposes. It is possible, however, that something good could come from Martin vs. Zimmerman.
Don’t believe the extremists. This case does not represent a trend by which thousands of young black men are being killed in self-defense by white/ Hispanic (whatever) neighborhood watchmen.
Since Trayvon Martin’s death, 500 African-Americans have been murdered in Chicago and almost 5,000 have been killed there in the last 10 years.
THAT is a trend we should be looking at.
Also, most of the media would like you to believe Trayvon was the black version of Beaver Cleaver.
He was not. He was atroubled and arguably angry young black man who had been suspended from school three times that year and was very familiar with street fighting. Does this mean he “deserved” what happened to him? No, but it supports the evidence that he probably threw the first punch and was on top of George Zimmerman delivering some “whoop ass” as reported by Rachel Jeantel, ear witness and Martin friend.
The case was argued, and I believe the correct verdict was rendered. I never thought I would use Charles Barkley as a supporter in any of myarticles, but in this case I can. Even Charles believes the verdict was correct. But are there any huge lessons here? Not really. Remember, this does not represent a rash of such activity. Two small lessons that everyone should take away are (1) if you are a neighborhood watchman, stay in your car and let the police do the work, and (2) if you are an angry young man of any color, don’t “whoop ass” indiscriminately. There can be negative consequences to your actions.
Something good could come from this calamity.
While extremists continue to use it to stir up hate, in the background I am hearing some honest discussion of real issues that face African-Americans in this country.
Let me lay out the thread of realities I believe will lead you to the source of most of the suftering in our black communities.
The thread ends with high crime rates. Is there someinequity in the prosecution of crime in America?
Probably, but that doesn’t account for the massive chasm between black and non-black crime rates. Blacks are convicted of murder at a rate four times that of their white counterparts primarily because they commit more murders, says Jason Riley, a conservative black commentator.
What leads to these high crime rates? Economic inequity. In 2010, the median income for black households in America was more than 40 percent lower than white households. This is not because black people make 40 percent less than whites in like jobs. Those days are over. It is because more blacks (particularly males) work in lower-paying jobs or are unemployed.
So, why do we have fewer blacks fully participating in the job opportunities delivered by America’s economic engine? Education. According to the lateststudies, African-Americans represent half of their fair share of the students on college campuses. What is even more disturbing is that black males only represent 40 percent of that enrollment, so they are even more under-represented.
High School dropout rates are also about double in the black community vs. whites.
No doubt, this is a problem.
And why is there such inequity in the education system? Certainly there is an inequality in the facilities and teachers in the black community. I believe this supports the concept of a voucher system that will give power to black students and parents. But that is not the biggest issue. The biggest issue facing the black community, which starts this thread that leads to poorer education, lower incomes and finally higher crime rates, is the deterioration of the black family.
Family is not a black issue or a white issue. Thefamily is the foundation and building block of our society. During the era of slavery there was a concerted eft ort to break down and even destroy the black family.
Fixing this problem will not be easy. We will not be able to save everyone. Some will still make poor choices, but we must not allow “the soft bigotry of low expectations” to hold the black community back.
According to talk show host Larry Elder, “the formula for achieving middle class success is simple: Finish high school; don’t have a child before the age of 20; and get married before having a child.” Is this too much to ask of black youth today? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should be working with black parents to embrace and enforce this vision.
KEVIN CANFIELD, A SPRINGDALE RESIDENT, IS A PROCTER & GAMBLE RETIREE AND AUTHOR OF “MASTERING SALES.”
Opinion, Pages 11 on 08/04/2013