Trayvon: The Symbol

Today, when something is deemed newsworthy folks come out of the woodwork to drop their two-cents in the bucket. Right or wrong, informed or walking in on the end of the conversation, everyone has an opinion, an analysis, and now- more than ever- a means to share that opinion, yours truly included. So it was no surprise to see so much public discourse around the killing of African American teen Trayvon Martin and the severely delayed arrest of his Caucasian killer, George Zimmerman.

However, after continual cries of injustice, apathy, and racism, some in the African American community began to ask in all earnestness "What's so special about Trayvon?" especially when inner-city African American youth are being murdered by other African Americans with regularity, minus the news coverage. Why not any one of the others? 


On its face its a fair question, and I don't get the feeling that those who pose it are any less empathetic and/or outraged by Trayvon's killing; its that they don't understand the silence around all those other young men whose lives have been cut short. Why did Trayvon become the symbol representing the gross injustices that young people of color in the United States endure day in and day out?


Trayvon has moved into a space that many of us are all too familiar with; he's become a symbol of the oppression that has continued to plague our African American males, young and old. In death he's become a  de facto spokesman, gunned down in a quiet gated community. He gives voice to an awareness rarely vocalized by many of our inner city youth. An awareness they grapple with on a daily basis, regardless of where they are, they are never safe from harm.


 We've galvanized around his story, donning our Hoodies in support of him and as a way to decry the rampant violence claiming the lives of our young. We don our Hoodies as a way to protest the byproduct of the media's  demonization of the African American male, which has primed Americans for flight or fight responses when they cross paths with these young men. The slanted media depiction of African American youth has some saying "He must have done something to provoke the situation."  


 Freedom fighting journalist, Ida B. Wells railed against the unfair media portrayal of African American men as lazy, thievish, immoral, and lustful. She illustrated the effect of this heinous portrayal as it impacted the nations collective psyche and how it influenced the court of public opinion (particularly in the south). This demonization served as a justification for the rampant lynchings of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.  The anti-Blackman propaganda was so pervasive and relentless  it not only convinced many White Americans that it was only a matter of time before the African American male would "get himself lynched", but it also, gradually, pushed African Americans to see each other through the same perverted lens. Many of us began to believe if trouble befell us, it must have responded to our invitation.

Yes, Trayvon is but one of many, and his murder and his family's pain should push us to see this in a broader context, not as an incident isolated from the killings in Chicago, Detroit, L.A., New York, New Orleans, Cleveland, Washington D.C., etc. If the Hoodie represents anything at all, it should be a reminder that all of our (young) men may fall victim to the same plight if we don't address the systemic issues and understandings  that have caused such unconscious and unspoken fear, disdain and devaluation of the African American male.

The debate goes on about the systemic effects of (mis)education and (un)employment and how these two factors continue to wreak havoc in our communities, contributing in no small way to the violence present there. And, there is also the mindset which has been formed through hundreds of years of constant programming, presenting the African American male to society and to himself through a most distorted and ugly lens. Today, we see and respond to each other through this manufactured lens. 

In order for Trayvon's death to have any meaning it must serve as wake up call to break the glass. Because of - not in spite of- the issues present in so many of our communities, we have to see our youth and each  other with a fresh pair of eyes. We must endeavor to provide our children with a feeling of security and safety which has eluded so many of them. We must address the unbalanced media coverage given to the ills in our communities, often to the exclusion of its successes. Because, even as we are losing lives we have triumphs which go unmentioned and for that we and the world lose an opportunity to see our youth in a different light.  I can only hope and pray that we are able to reverse this image, in half the time it took for us to get here.