It didn’t start with Trayvon Martin. Kimani Gray, Kendrec McDade, Timothy Russell, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant and dozens of other of young black men, weaponless, feared, have been gunned down in modern America, their shooters usually freed or facing only minimal sentences.
After George Zimmerman killed Trayvon in Sanford, Florida in 2012, Bruce Springsteen said, “Trayvon Martin is Amadou Diallo,” invoking the unarmed African immigrant gunned down by New York City police in 1999, holding only his wallet, and sang, “you can get killed just for living in your American skin.”
Trayvon’s story bore a chilling resemblance to civil rights icon Emmett Till, the 14-year-old black boy, also returning from a store with candy, who was shot in the head in 1955 in another small southern town by a stranger with easy access to a gun, who, like Zimmerman, raised substantial funds for his legal defense and was quickly acquitted.
It didn’t end with Trayvon Martin. Three months after the 17-year-old’s shooting, John Spooner, an elderly white resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was convinced that his 13-year-old African-American neighbor Darius Simmons was a burglar who had stolen his cache of shotguns a few days earlier.
As Darius and his mother collected their family’s garbage cans from the curb, Spooner confronted the boy, gun in hand. Darius put his hands up, and his mother asked Spooner “why he had that gun on my baby.” Security footage shows that the boy quickly moved back, and then Spooner shot him once in the chest. As Darius turned and ran, Spooner fired a second shot at his back. He tried to fire a third shot, but his gun jammed. Darius ran a little further, then collapsed and died in the street in his mother’s arms.
Darius’s home was searched immediately after the shooting. No guns were found. At his trial, Spooner showed no remorse and said that he also had wanted to kill Darius’s older brother, who had run into the street to help Darius after the shooting. Spooner testified that his shooting of Darius was “justice,” and that “I wanted those shotguns back. They were a big part of my life.” Spooner was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, largely due to the videotape from his own security cameras, which depicted him going after the child without any pretense of self-defense.
Nine months after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, four black teenaged boys were in a car stopped at a gas station in Jacksonville, Florida. Michael Dunn, 46, complained about the loud music emanating from the boys’ SUV, and a verbal exchange followed. Dunn, who is white, says he thought the boys had a gun, and so he opened fire into their vehicle, killing Jordan Davis, 17. Jordan and his three friends, it turned out, were unarmed.
After the shooting, Dunn went to a hotel, ate pizza and went to sleep. He was arrested the next morning, two hours away from the crime scene. In a letter written from jail as he awaited trial for first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, Dunn called his shooting victim a “thug” and said the world would be a better place if more people “killed these fucking idiots.” Referring to African-Americans, Dunn said, “the more I am exposed to these people, the more prejudiced against them I become.”
Inexplicably, prosecutors failed to introduce Dunn’s racist letters into evidence, even after the defense opened the door to character evidence by eliciting testimony that Dunn was “gentle and peaceful.” Dunn was convicted of attempted murder for shooting at the boys’ car as it sped away from his gunfire, but the jury hung on the top charge of murder of Jordan Davis. Dunn awaits retrial.
18 months after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Jonathan Ferrell, 24, was driving home at 2 a.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he crashed his car, causing him to climb out the rear window to escape. He went to a nearby house and banged on the door to summon help. The white woman inside, afraid, called 911. Police arrived and Ferrell ran toward them. A white police officer fired 12 shots at him, hitting him 10 times. Ferrell’s fiancée said, “I feel like if somebody had just taken a step back and really figured out what was going wrong with him, they would have known he didn’t cause a threat to anybody.”
Ferrell, an African-American football player for Florida A&M University, died instantly that night, September 14, 2013. He was unarmed, had no drugs in his system, and had only a small amount of alcohol in his blood, less than the legal limit permitted for driving. The officer was charged with voluntary manslaughter and awaits trial.
20 months after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, another tragedy occurred in a suburb of Detroit, eerily similar to the Jonathan Ferrell shooting that preceded it. In Dearborn Heights, Michigan, 19-year-old Renisha McBride’s car had broken down and her cell phone had died. After knocking on a door for help at 4 a.m., McBride, who was African-American, was fatally shot in the face by a 54-year-old white homeowner who feared she was a burglar.
Prosecutors say the homeowner, Theodore Wafer, opened his front door and fired through his locked screen door. “I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams what that man feared from her to shoot her in the face,” her mother, Monica McBride, said. “I would like to know why. She brought him no danger.”
For nearly two weeks, no arrest was made, though the shooter was known immediately and McBride, while inebriated, had no weapon. After community outcry and national media attention, Wafer was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and felony firearm possession.
Theodore Wafer’s trial begins on Monday. Wayne County Judge Dana Hathway said it’s up to Wafer to prove he “had honest and reasonable belief of death” when he fired the shotgun, as “someone knocking on your screen door does not create a self-defense.”
What do all these cases have in common?
Widespread, implicit racial bias, the American enthusiasm for unrestricted gun ownership, and expansive Stand Your Ground laws combine to enable the continued shootings of African-American young people who are taking out the trash, knocking on a door, or stopping at a gas station.
It’s no longer just the police who are accused of racial profiling. A prolifically armed citizenry now stands ready to back up its suspicions with gunfire. In my recent book “Suspicion Nation,” I explain how these three potent, pernicious forces are the powder kegs underlying these horrific tragedies. Each case is shocking. But it’s time to stop being shocked and start taking action to combat our fears of our black neighbors, to rein in gun violence, and to repeal Stand Your Ground laws which significantly increase deaths, especially of African Americans.
Do we value human life? Do we want to fully embrace African-Americans as equals under the law? Or do we want to continue to pretend that these cases have nothing in common with one another and are just stand alone tragedies? Do we want to save the next Trayvon, the next Renisha, or do we want to blame them, as their shooters always try to do, for walking while black? Does anyone really think that Theodore Wafer would have shot me if I’d been knocking on his door seeking help in the night?
In his final speech before he was assassinated by a white shooter, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “All we say to America is be true to what you said on paper.” On paper, we despise racism and violence. It’s up to each of us to be true to those core American values by standing against them and pushing for legal reforms that bring us closer to the people we want to be.
If we don’t, we can only brace ourselves for the next shooting, the next grieving mother, the next victim-blaming killer, the next unsatisfying attempt by the legal system to bring justice in a case where the forces are much bigger than can be contained by one courtroom.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Avvo.
46 comments
Anthony Q Bates
Anyone who believes some one has the right to call TM a thug is a bigot . He was stalked. He did not stalk
kayla
This entire article shows the ignorance of its, self titled I'm sure, "writer." Look at the percentage of crimes every day, committed by"African Americans," that go unnoticed because they are simply declared not worthy of news. People like this writer simply perpetuate the cycle by continuing to fan the flames if a long over documented subject. I am so sick of hearing race thrown into a discussion that could simply be classified as ignorance on the oat of the suspects. These handful of crimes that our country chooses to publicize, in spite of the countless others committed every day, is ridiculous to say the least. I'm dive reading this kind of garbage and will refrain from doing so until an actual reporter decides to do something note-worthy and actually bring to light the startling number of crimes that are ignored, which by the true definition, that are actual RACIST acts. Complete ignorance. I'M OFFICIALLY LESS INTELLIGENT BECAUSE OF THIS ARTICLE. I THINK I FELT MY IQ DROP.
Sara
It's ppl like YOU, who starts problems. I am not evil, you are to say such nonsense! White ppl are scared???? We're scared, we can't shop, or hang out, without being profiled. Please stop with your racist comments, before you hype yourself and others up to do something crazy.
Sara
Wow! The racist have spoken. The racism is real in America, it's not my imagination. As a Black women, I'll admit, I'm scared of Black men, and all the other nationalities! Crime is just increasing all over, and it will get worse. It will be the haves against the have nots. The older my son gets the more I fear for his life. It's getting harder to keep him safe from the black, and the white ppl. My son isn't racist, and doesn't "gang-bang", or do any of the negative stereo-types associated with blacks. He could of been in the back seat taking a ride to the store with family, would he have deserved to die, because the music was too loud???? I see the racism on this site, and I'm sad because I know this is how all white folks feel, you just said it out loud. And to kev, REALLY???
paul hagenkotter
What about when the black kid shot and killed the White baby when trying to rob the white lady where was the media? Where's Al Sharpton when there's black on black crime? That's right there's no money for that
Greg
The "article" is clearly race baiting as many comments have pointed out.
I was not raised with racism but I agree with Dunn to a point: “the more I am exposed to these people, the more prejudiced against them I become.”
For about the last decade, I have told myself it was the culture not genetics. Then I read this article in Time magazine: http://time.com/91081/what-science-says-about-race-and-genetics/
Now I am not so sure...
T
Wow I'm white and the issue is how many black kids are killed by black kids is this a crime no but where is the news media. What a bunch of crap
Jon Parker
Wow! And you really thought that we live in a society where everyone was treated equally? After reading these posts it is very apparent that racism is alive, and well in this country. Judging by some of these posts it is okay that these unarmed African Americans were gunned down simply because "no one says anything when Caucasians are attacked by African Americans". Very sad.
I am African (American? Sometimes I am not sure). And I always knew that if me, or my family are ever attacked, shot, or robbed for no just reason. I am doing the perpetrators, and their families. I'm just saying.......
Jonathan
are we going to have to hear this race card shit forever?this is a very small number of cases out of the thousands of people that die every year from various reasons,yes the stories are awful and yes people did break the law but why does it always come down to skin color?
James Trent
I agree that in each case mentioned the victims were shot needlessly. However, I believe most people with intelligence would agree that in the case of Renisha McBride, she was asking for trouble by knocking on a stranger's door at 4 A.M. If you are unsure of a stranger at your door, don't open it! Also, keep in mind that approximately 70% of our prison population is black males and the public is very wary of black on white crime. Furthermore, rarely do we see the media report extensively when blacks perpetrate crimes against whites. We need to come together as Americans and learn to accept and value each other as human beings! The main cause of the problems the U.S faces is that we don't take personal responsibility for our actions anymore, and we have allowed God to be taken out of schools and society.
D
This is a joke right? This is a Racist story. Sorry news people you make a racist story like this and I'm not going to read your crap anymore. See I live in the real world. Crap is what this is and everybody knows it.
Robert
Unfortunately the facts of race and violent crime are that black males between the ages 15-34, who constitute roughly 4% of the population of the United States, commit 52% of ALL murders in the US. 5,437 murders of 10,220 committed in 2011 were commiited by blacks. Blacks constitute 13.3% of the poulation, but are 7 times more likely to murder a white person than vice-versa. These are cold hard facts, from the FBI website, uniform crime reports. Until blacks address the social decay and decline of the family, generational dependence on gonvernment subsidies, and rampant gang crime and drug abuse, articles like this do nothing but validate racial bias. Unfortunately, racial profiling by demographic and location is an effective tool. The single biggest predictor of crime in the US is the portion of that population is black. These are the facts.
Bill
This is ridiculous. This article is just more hate mongering, red flag, garbage. Pure and simple......collateral damage happens. Those guns didn't kill those poor people. Their moron racist owners did. Im not going to give up my second ammendment rights because of the actions of a few idiots. Also when compared with the number of gangbanging idiots out there shooting up carfulls of innocent people for their initiations, crime, or simple boredom, I'd say the numbers on wrongful deaths by firearms are low. While these people's deaths were tragic they do serve as standing reminder to all criminals what could happen should you choose to blur the lines between morality and nessissity. A much stronger reminder than that of the police. So instead of race baiting I will thank all those "Travon Martins" of the world for putting the fear of god back into the hearts of criminals who violate personal securities of honorable people.
gerald
Where do you get all these ignorant people from? The racists are coming out of the woodwork.The article was not onesided it was the truth.If the author chose to write an article about their love for the color red would it be onesided because they did not include the color blue? I think not.The author simply stated facts.But you people are blinded by ignorance and hate.The person calling him or herself the truth
sounds like he must have been at the scene when Mr Wafer shot Ms McBride he implores you to get your facts straight yet his entire little rant is based totally on speculation he even says so in his comments the police speculate etc I'm sure he can tell you what she was drinking. My personal belief is a lot of racism is based on people's own insecurities. Another person stated the knockout game was geared toward elderly white people and women,not true I myself was a victim.I've been accused of alot of things but looking like a little old White lady wasn't one of them.I am a Black man.I have actually lived in Detroit and some of it's surrounding suburbs and if some of you people think you're better because you're white you've got another thing coming. Start checking your kids backpacks and pockets when they get home. Someone else brought up George Zimmerman what a joke he was obviously looking to kill someone what's he done since his trial? Let's see he pointed a shotgun in his girlfriends face he is now working as unpaid security guard at a gunshop in Florida at night.Most sensible people wouldn't evenwant to get paid to sit in an alley in the dark to watch a building unless it was theirs.Ol George still looking for some action. Meanwhile a Black woman,in the same state is facing 20 years for firing a warning shot in the air.george zimmerman as a sympathetic figure? Get real.It's open season on people of color in Florida.People it's time to put our differences aside because there are alot fewer differences between the races in this country than you would think.Most people want the same things in life for themselves and their families.There's just a small few in every race who don't choose to accomplish there goals the right law abiding way.So if you're thinking you're better than anyone else based on the color of your skin,and I'm guessing there are no millionaires responding to this article because if you were you wouldn't have time for this. The folks running things don't give a damn about you either,you may as well be black as me and if you're as informed as some of you think you are you know it's true.
Jeffrey Donadio
I'm white (just so you have been informed) and I'm appalled with the facts of this article! To shoot unarmed people without any real provocation is discusting. I'm not judging the author of this article of being one sided, the point is clear in my mind. These individuals were shot because the shooters were all motivated by racial discrimination, period! If the victims were the same race as the people perpetrating these unlawful acts, I'm sure there would have been more discretion before pulling the trigger. To hear about all these hideous crimes, only because of fear and hatred makes my blood boil. I'm not perfect, I never claimed to be, but my distrust of certain groups of people would never be overshadowed by blind rage allowing me to act out as these people did. I just read an article about a man shooting an unarmed woman who claimed to be pregnant while fleeing the house she and her accomplice just broke into. She was shot and killed outside of the house, with the man she and her friend just injured chasing them with the gun. He claimed self defense as his robbers were fleeing! Regardless of race, what is this world coming to? What gives anyone the right to kill another person like that? If you can escape unharmed, even if you lose your property, it is your duty to run away, not shoot and kill anyone! I'm so angry after hearing about these senseless killings that I can't express my thoughts as clearly as I want to. The bottom line is that all the people mentioned in this article clearly used poor judgement, and should all be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The victims race was clearly the deciding factor as to why they were chosen as hate crime targets. Anyone who disagrees is biased because of their own prejudice! Thanx for allowing me to voice my opinion about this matter.
millie
Wow I read this and it's all a racist card invitation. What about when black ppl shoot a white person or a Hispanic person? It doesn't get as much attention as they do. What's the difference? Oh yeah cause a white person kills a black person right? They ain't any better than us. Sorry to say ya need to quit pulling out that card. For real. Where's the media for the white kids that get killed?
Love thy neighbor
I LOVE how when a black person gets shot and killed like this it's a racial thing and all the blacks gang up together and start all kinds of crap. But when it comes to a white kid getting shot for no reason by a black person "ya'll" wanna say the black boy had a right to do what he did and it was self defense and whatever else y'all will convince yourself a of. Either way wrong is wrong and it's not black and it's not white. It's WRONG. Point blank. Blacks keep black on white racism alive. If one day just ONE DAY blacks would quit among everybody else for their problems then just MAYBE some problems would be solved in today's society. Not a racist by no means but damn. Let's all just give up on it. For real.
Lou
What a propaganda piece. Blacks are attacking white defenseless elderly and female people everyday under the euphemism Punch Out Game, which in reality is a hate crime but the animals perpetuating this crime are labeled in the main stream media as misguided youth. Yet when a white person retaliated it instantly made national news as a hate crime. US Almanac used to break crime down by race. But under pressure from the liberal left stopped doing so in 1998. In that last year, 85% of all armed robberies were committed by 12% of the population. 58% of all homicides, 39% of all rapes, and 69% of all reported assaults. That 12% is Black. These figures have not changed and can still be gleaned from the Department of Justice but it's buried so far that you have to really search. Just do a Google search on crimes vs race USA. We've all heard about Trayvon Martin and how our POTUS so publicly decried "If I had a son, he would of looked like Trayvon". How many of you have heard about Christopher Cervini, an unarmed white skinny 17 year old, shot and killed by a BLACK night watchman built like a pro linebacker who was found innocent by self defense. Or Christopher Lane, the young Australian college student shot to death by three 'bored' blacks who targeted him because of the color of his skin? You never hear the media take up the outcry in these cases because heaven forbid, it might upset the view that blacks are victims and can never be wrong. Just look at the shootings that are occurring in Chicago nightly. Over 80 people shot over the 4th, 95% of which were done by blacks. Detroit as a city has denigrated to a war zone and over half the city has fled since 2000.Crime is rampant and the police forced has layed off over 1000 police in the last 5 years. If someone was banging on my door at 3AM shouting incoherently, I would assume the worst and protect my family, an err on their safety and end any perceived threat immediately.
Pops
Quite a few facts and mischaracterizations in this article. Stand your ground laws don't give you the "right " to shoot anyone. You can still be convicted of homicide. The were written because in some states over zealous prosecutors were charging people with homicide who shot someone in very clear self defense. That aside, I do have to say that in some of the cases mentioned, if you are scared of the person on the other side of the door, don't open the door! Then you at least don't have to shoot. I have had many drunk, loud scary people, bang on my door over the years, white and black, usually just confused,thinking that they are locked outside their own home. I never felt the need to shoot as long as they stayed on the outside of my door. I would call 911. If someone kicked down my door, that could be different. Steal my stuff, as long as your leaving out the door and not a threat, I'll call the cops. Color makes no difference, in fact in my little town, most if the crime is white meth addicts.
Groidma
Waaaah, yet another unch of howler monkeys searching forthe looter lotto!!
More Truth
@kev
"The chicken has come home to roost."
And when white people finally have had enough _you_ might just be surprised.
Just saying.
Steve
The article is racially bias, one sided, and factually wrong. Those that advance this kind of falsehood are responsible for race based violence. They agitate for violence. It is time to expose them. They have true hate in their heart and blood on their hands.
Debby Griffin
This article is so obviously race baiting and totally one sided. This isn't reporting, this is picking and choosing the "perfect" articles to make a racist statement against white people. An honest journalist would not leave out the thousands of "white" people who have been murdered by blacks for no reason! I don't condone murder of anyone, but let's report ALL the facts - not just the ones that prop up your flimsy views!
Keith
Michael you believe the media causes race issues?
Please explain this?
Keith
Some of these comments show people lack respect for human life.
To say that an article race bates that post actual deaths committed for no reason other than a person being black. Do people even know what racism is?
Racism will always exist, sad but true.
Nicole
This article isn't referring to crime..people in the black community commit crimes that often lead to murder all too often yes.. but you know whats also underreported white on white crime..it does exsist more than you think....this is talking about racially motivated murders...these victims were not selling drugs...raping...assaulting...robbing anyone...they were killed simply because the color of thier skin made them a perceived threat....most of the time that fear of one's life is just a cop out to be able to comfortably act on one's deep seeded hate without having to come out and say I shot them because they were black...it's more socially acceptable to cry scared...black don't only have to fear other races these days...there's so much self hate and blacks thinking they will be seen as better blacks for down talking thier race...they are the real threats..it's disgusting. It does not matter how many blacks you shun, put down or shake your head at..in the eyes of other races you are still an N word and if in the same situation as some of those mentioned above you would be killed too
Nicole
Black on black crime and white on white crime is not relevant in this discussion. ...this article is clearly speaking about murders occurring strictly due to racism or stereotypes ....different races kill each other all the time correct however the difference is the motive...alot of black on black crime is drug related, robbery related, emotionally exploding....these victims were killed under a false pretense that thier mere existence was threat enough for them to die...and those false pretenses are racially motivated. ..blacks and whites and any other race need to stop pretending that racism does not exist in America today...and that's among ALL races...stop lying to yourselves to make you feel better and if you are gonna house hate in your heart stop pretending to ease your conscience....because the more your secret hate builds..a simple event such as loud music may lead to a senseless murder
Hamlet’s Ghost
So, white people are "evil". No racism there. Nope, none at all.
Hamlet’s Ghost
This is one of the most dishonest articles that I've ever read. Even for a lawyer, Bloom's articles scales new heights of mendacity.
Barry cole
If the article is news, its biased, not balanced. If the article is opinion, its biased, and race baiting. If the premise is that guns are "causing" whites to be armed ( and it seems then to assume they weren't armed before) so they can kill blacks with impunity even your story doesn't support that. Hostile crimes crimes are being met with deadly force. Overwhelming deadly force used against persons that are not reasonably judged to be in fear of their lives, are being arrested and tried. So the system is working just fine. Your article is selectively devoid of facts that support what I just said. Most compelling is that law abiding blacks, upwardly mobile empowered suburban and urban alike have killed, or shot and defended their families, stopping white kids and adults from abusing their kids or stealing their property. Your article reads like Al Sharpton's daily planner. What part of "you do not have to run or retreat from deadly danger in order to not be judged" do you find so offensive. The alternative is and was " don't ever hurt a criminal or you'll be jailed ( except if you are the police- then you can wail on the the bastards)". That's what this country was at in the generations after the 50s. You grew up with peace love and let's give even criminals the benefit of the doubt. I grew up with my dad telling me if I stole vegetables from a farmer or broke into a neighbors house I could get shot! If you want to stop defensive acts, don't go to the defender and take away his defense. Go to the OFFENDERS and work on stopping the violence, the hostility, the indifference for life of others, the entitlement, the disregard for laws and common morals and decency. Find the root causes of those things, and more of those people other wise destined for trouble, will be destined instead for college, trades, jobs, home ownership, and the American dream of freedom. (read: Norman Rockwell four freedoms). Guns by the way, were denied to blacks, and women in the past by law or practice. And gun laws disproportionately affect the poor, immigrants, and single women, who are often abused and victims of crimes. The laws that empower are empowering the masses, not the white elite. Women are shooting their stalkers, and rapists, and home invaders increasingly now. Poor folks can at least keep their property and kids safer, if not able to move out of the crappy neighborhood just yet. There is a lot of work to do. Identifying the problem as guns and white people isn't even close; in fact it is 180 degrees off. Your idea that laws are making this a problem is even more absurd, and the only thorough long term and seriously peer reviewed studies prove it. You would outlaw illiteracy and expect people to be better readers?. You would outlaw ignorance and expect k-12 test scores to improve? Dig deeper. You haven't even begun to be a real voice or anything other than a cheerleader for inappropriate emotional reactive ideas. Rev. Barry Cole
Louis Lemieux
The article is so slanted and spun it crosses the line from merely really bad and unprofessional journalism and becomes fiction. Every single one of Ms. Blooms examples played an active role in what happened to them. As the Obama era closed, this country has reached racial sympathy fatigue. The country needs citizens who are responsible for their own behavior, who do not have multiple children that they cannot afford and who act reasonably. I have no sympathy for those who act like idiots and cry afterward.
good
You can flip off a black person nowadays and be charged with a hate crime....god bless the USA lol
Zeal
Black on white crime is 100 times higher than white on black crime, this includes homicide.
News flash: the word "racist" or "racism" is not race specific. Many blacks are racists too.
Blacks are responsible for the way others feel about them. Distrust, fear, even hatred seem to fall into the category of racism now days.
And a final note, if someone's son or husband or wife or daughter is killed in the act of breaking into a person's home, the family shouldn't expect sympathy.
The truth is
Lisa Bloom, you racist.
LaShaun
Michael, you asked why they don't ever report blacks killing blacks, that's because black on black crime, is still not a crime in the minds of some people in america, and the sad part is some of us don't care, and it's not an issue unless the killer is white, in some cases. That's really sad.
Tom
This writer is just like the rest of the democrats. Think, that just because you say or write something, no matter how false and biased it is it becomes truth!
michael
I wonder why they never report on the black on black murders that happen from just walking the street or the times a black person goes overboard and shoots a white victim standing in her yard for yelling at them to drive safer? We continue to have racial issues because the media continues to report with great bias and prejudice.
rich
I totally agree with the article 100% but wait!!!!!! There's more, much much more. We in the African american community are killing each other in record numbers every single day EVERY DAY. But when that happens no one wants to "snitch" and killers walk free they don't even go to court. If we don't love and value ourselves enough to seek justice in our own community how can you expect other nationalities to value our life. When a black kills a black we should have massive protests and demand justice as well. Bottom line stop the killing, black or white we all are human beings and its not okay for a white person to kill a black person. But is it okay for a black person to kill another black person? Statistically, blacks are more likely to be killed by another black than the police or a white person. Its odd how this same argument has continued for decades and we still murder each other at an alarming rate and even sell records glorifying the violence that we perpetrate against one another singing songs with lyrics that glorify killing a N# . Violence is a way of life in this society so write a book about that please. Let's also seen justice for the 100's even 1,000s each year that die at the hands of other blacks as well. I love my people but don't be hypocritical its nausiating
Robert
Zimmerman is Hispanic. Just thought that may need clarification since this article it's race baited.
David
Zimmerman did not kill Martin because he was black.. Zimmerman killed Martin because Martin was on top of him beating him. Martin made it clear that he planned on killing Zimmerman. Someone racially motivated to kill someone else does not call the police first... Clearly, Zimmerman had no intention on a physical confrontation with Martin.. It was Martin who circled back and forced the physical confrontation with Zimmerman. So, the Zimmerman-Martin case does not resemble any other cases you mention..
amada
No matter the color of your skin ,if you commit a crime you will be in prison or worse.
ken
One day soon you will regret being on the side of evil, no matter the skin color.
Kev
White people are SCARED. The chicken has come home to roost. Your misdeeds are not going to go unpunished. You're so wicked by nature that you couldn't stop if you wanted to. You can kill the body but not spirit. But you don't understand that. And you NEVER will. You are EVIL
Rick
Racial bias continues because of "writers" who can't write an unbiased story. The "white" guy writing this doesn't see the justification to identifying a person's race. If you the "Shakespeare" writer you think you are really wanted to help the situation why don't you write people are killed for various reasons. Some people for justified reasons others for senseless crimes. Some deserve to be killed or at least sterilized, but the bottom line is we are all people regardless of any factors. Try your hand at real news like the reason why inner city youth is an epidemic is because the government gives money to foreign countries without tax payer consent. Maybe you could do a little research and figure out how many billions of dollars go to foreign countries and if that would be enough money to end hunger, homelessness and suffering inside out borders. Use your "community college" degree Einstein.
John
and what about the crimes that blacks do commit, should people just ignore that?
TheTruth
"In Dearborn Heights, Michigan, nineteen-year-old Renisha McBride’s car had broken down and her cell phone had died. After knocking on a door for help at 4 am, McBride, who was African-American, was fatally shot in the face by a fifty-four-year-old white homeowner who feared she was a burglar."
Let me correct you on a few things here. She "WRECKED" HER CAR CAR FROM BEING 3 TIMES OVER THE LEGAL LIMIT DRUNK!!! It was not broken down!! She also left the scene of the accident not ONCE, but TWICE with Police and EMS in route to the scene according to witnesses. To avoid a DUI I'm sure. HER CELL PHONE WAS NOT DEAD!! She made 2 calls after the accident according to the police report. Also the crash occurred at 2am . She did not arrive to Mr. Wafers house until 4am. Police speculate she went to her aunts house for 2 house after the crash and continued to party. Get your facts straight. Do more research before you spread misinformation.