A Year Later, Trayvon Martin Stays Lodged in the Psyche of Black Parents

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/02/a-year-later-trayvon-stays-lodged-in-the-psyche-of-black-parents/

By NICK CHILES

It’s been a year since Trayvon Martin pierced our consciousness.

So many brutal, unforgettable stories have shocked our senses since last February. So many young people have been unforgivably taken from us. Jordan Davis. Aurora. Newtown. Hadiya Pendleton.

It has been a year that may even bring about some changes in the way the nation views and treats gun violence. Maybe. It still remains to be seen whether our lawmakers will have the courage to actually change the laws that govern how easily Americans can blow each other away.

Of course, the Trayvon story is still in the media, as we follow all the pre-trial dramas of George Zimmerman. When he actually goes on trial for the murder of Trayvon, shining a very public spotlight on the irrationality of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, the case will jump onto the front pages again.

As others have noted, MyBrownBaby was one of the first media sources in the country to note the larger implications of Trayvon’s murder. We helped to put the story on the front pages. When my wife Denene showed me a wire service report out of Florida on a press conference held by Trayvon’s parents, who were trying to bring attention to the fact that Zimmerman still hadn’t been arrested two weeks after he shot their son to death, I immediately thought about my own son. He is a young black male who had been pulled over by police in our subdivision several times by police; we had gotten nervous emails from neighbors in the subdivision reporting that there had been a couple of burglaries. Those were all the steps that could lead to something tragic. I knew I had to pen something meaningful, quickly. After I did, sites like The Root soon followed suit.

As Zimmerman Goes Free, We Trace the Path of This Unbelievable Story

http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/04/as-zimmerman-goes-free-we-trace-the-path-of-this-unbelievable-story/

By NICK CHILES

As George Zimmerman walked out of jail late Sunday night after posting bail, and the city of Sanford tried to determine whether Police Chief Bill Lee still had his job, it gave us an opportunity here at MyBrownBaby to think back on how much the story of Trayvon Martin’s murder has transformed the nature of social media in just seven weeks.

It also gave us a chance to reflect on MyBrownBaby’s crucial role in lighting a spark that ignited this unbelievable story.

Diggy Dissing J.Cole, Trayvon Martin,DMX,Rick Ross Wins, Rhianna Fukcing ? Industry 10

Just A Few Random Thoughts Regarding The Trayvon Martin Tragedy

By BIG CED

This is what’s troubling about recent reports about the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case. Let’s just say that Zimmerman is correct in that Trayvon was bashing his head into the ground. According to the 911 call Zimmerman made, he was told to NOT pursue Trayvon, yet he did, so, in theory, if he had listened to the caller, more than likely, no incident happens that night. BUT, he did pursue Trayvon. Why isn’t Trayvon afforded the same right, according to the ‘stand your ground’ law that Zimmerman chooses to use as his defense? Even IF Trayvon was whipping his ass, doesn’t Trayvon have the right to stand his ground? Zimmerman is following him, which immediately puts Trayvon in a defensive stance, common sense tells you that. But let me state that I do NOT believe Zimmerman’s version of what transpired, BUT, even IF it happened that way, he is STILL the aggressor in this situation. Of course, we will NEVER know….

Preview CNN’s Beyond Trayvon Before It Airs Tonight on The Industry Cosign!

Beyond Trayvon: Race & Justice In America airs TONIGHT, March 30th at 8p and 10p ET on CNN

CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien hosts a townhall on a controversial event that has gripped the nation: the shooting of Trayvon Martin. In this one hour special, several panels will examine and discuss the facts of the case and the many angles that have come into play including: the investigation, allegations of racial profiling, gun laws and Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. 

In this clip, Trayvon Martin’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, questions the investigation. 

Immortal Technique Speaks Out For Trayvon Martin and Gives Advice to Teens On the Street

I Am Trayvon Martin…And So Is My Son

http://www.evasaidit.com/2012/03/i-am-trayvon-martin-and-so-is-my-son/

By Eva

You all know, and I have said before, that I don’t usually cover race on my site. That is intentional. This site is about my writing, my musings as a mother, as a woman, and hilarious, if ill-fated, tales about dating. I keep it light.  But like most of the nation, I have found myself in a bit of turmoil concerning the Trayvon Martin case. I’ve had to write this piece in two attempts because the subject, and my story concerning it, are just so damn heavy on my heart.  That said, I’m writing this piece as a mother raising a black man. Fuck an opinion, this life is my fact.

March 21, 2012. Wednesday.And the news everywhere is blaring the details of the murder of a 17 year old black child named Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL, by a non-black man named George Zimmerman.  Some say he’s hispanic, some say white, some say hispanic passing as white. It matters not. Trayvon was killed while walking back to his father’s home in a gated community carrying nothing but Skittles and a can of Arizona Iced Tea. Deemed “suspicious” by presence of a hoodie by an overzealous neighborhood watchman, he was shot and killed in cold blood.  You’ve heard the details. You know the story. You also know the outrage it has produced in communities all over.

The Nation Is Watching: the Killer of Trayvon Martin MUST Be Arrested (UPDATE)

http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/03/the-nation-is-watching-the-killer-of-trayvon-martin-must-be-arrested/

By NICK CHILES

UPDATE: the case in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch captain in the child’s Sanford, FL, community, has been handed over to the state attorney. Details, along with a petition demanding justice in Trayvon’s death, are at the end of this post.

Not only has George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old Neighborhood Watch captain who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, still not been arrested, but the more details that emerge in this crazy case, the more outrageous it gets. The Sanford police chief says that the police don’t have “probable cause” to dispute Zimmerman’s claims of self-defense. Neighbors say there have been complaints in the past about Zimmerman’s aggressive tactics. And, perhaps most disturbingly, when Zimmerman made the call to 911 about a suspicious person in his community, he reportedly told the 911 dispatcher that he wasn’t going to let the black teen get away because “they always get away.”