Sonni Says: Zimmerman Trial, Why? And What Now?

Saturday night 9:30 p.m. I found myself, just like most of America, glued to my TV waiting on a verdict to the Zimmerman trial. At this time, a lot of us joked on social media about what would happen if Zimmerman was acquitted. "How many steps will Zimmerman take out of the court house before someone shoots him?", "All hell will break loose if this n*gga gets away with shooting Trayvon." and my favorite "I'll concede to a Zimmerman acquittal if u force him to exit the front door #alone". There's no way the jury was gonna let George Zimmerman walk for killing an unarmed teen, nope just not gonna happen. Needless to say Zimmerman wasn't America's favorite citizen before the verdict and he's definitely the country's most hated after he was found...

...Wait. What the f*ck just happened?!

As much as I hate to admit it, I saw this coming (and I'm sure I'm not the only one). I wanted to be wrong but I knew that Zimmerman would be acquitted. The defense team's overall mission was simple, prove George Zimmerman feared for his life the night of the shooting. It's the word of George Zimmerman over a dead teen (sorry to be so blunt). No one truly knows what happened that night and unfortunately we never will. 

There were plenty of witnesses and tons of evidence pointing to Zimmerman as the aggressor, the instigator and ultimately the killer of Trayvon Martin BUT in the state of Florida according to the "Stand Your Ground" law, if someone's life is unlawfully threatened that person has the right to use force without pursuing the option to retreat first. The question now, was George Zimmerman legally wrong for profiling, following and attacking Trayvon? I'll get to that in a second.

After the verdict there was an outcry of disbelief, disappointment and anger towards the jury and the court. I won't deny I myself felt militant and wanted to go rioting down the streets of Atlanta throwing bricks through windows and setting cars on fire (But see the way my criminal record is set up...) Yes, I do believe our legal system has failed us yet again. I was raised to believe that I would ALWAYS be at a disadvantage because I'm a black male in America and that there are three things I must fight in order to succeed in the world we live in. I must fight for my identity not just as a black male but as an intelligent human being with something great to offer the world. I must fight for my faith, not religiously but my beliefs, what I feel is right. And fight through the pain life dishes out.

A huge reason why this verdict was painful to the black community is because we wanted to believe that a black male's life would finally be held at face value. And by "face value" I mean equal to everyone else's life. We are tired. Tired of laws being skewed to keep young black men in jail. Tired of police shooting young black men in "self defense" only to find out he wasn't armed to begin with just like Sean Bell or Amadou Diallo (Remember them?). But we are a resilient community and we have been through worse.

Before writing this I didn't want to make this about race but its impossible. But I will say the its dope to see the country make a stand as a whole. Since the verdict, so many people of all races have stepped out in protest in a peaceful manner from New York to LA.

And then there was the not so peaceful...

What's Next?
Was George Zimmerman wrong profiling Trayvon Martin? That's for the Justice Department to decide. They are currently investigating the death of Trayvon to see if federal proscecutors should file for a criminal civil rights charge. This case has gone from state to federal so basically this is far from over. The NAACP has a petition calling to open a civil rights case against Zimmerman, click here for more info.

I will continue to pray for Trayvon's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. These two have shown a level of patience and poise that is RARE and I applaud them for it. Your community has your back.

-Sonni