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Justice for Trayvon Martin by Guest Blogger Ashley Howard

3/27/2012

 
During the new millennium , we have witnessed the recycling of old trends from past decades. 70s and 80s fashion, 90s music and now,  the Civil Rights era of the 50s and 60s, and the racism that comes with it. The murder of Trayvon Martin has outraged people in this country just as the brutal death of Emmit Till did in 1955.

 Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old high school student, was gunned down by a man who claimed that Martin looked "suspicious." The only thing Trayvon was wearing was a "hoodie" sweatshirt and he was carrying a bag of Skittles and iced tea that he retrieved from the store for his little brother. He was unarmed and did not pose a threat to anyone except the trigger man, George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch captain. He was followed and harassed because of the color of his skin. 

The year is 2012, and we as a nation still choose to ignore the racism and injustice that goes on around us and to our own children. My son is only 2 years-old and has a collection of hoodies, and has since birth. Most of these hoodies were purchased from places such as Wal-Mart, Target and Old Navy. It breaks my heart as a mother, even at the tender age of 2, I fear for my Son's life. I fear for the racial profiling that will happen to him when he turns 17, the same age as Trayvon Martin. 

Today's society is afraid to speak out against injustice due to man reasons. Fear of being portrayed a certain way to the media, fear of disappointing  friends, even fear of losing a job. But that's where the problem is, we need to speak up, we need to scream out. Because allowing your voice to be heard is the first step to making a change. Let's do our part, let's do it for our children. Let's do it for Trayvon. 
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About our guest blogger: 

Ashley Howard is a recent transplant to Oakland, CA. She spoke at the #JusticeforTrayvon Rally in San Francisco. To contact her you can email her

here. 

PatientC link
3/27/2012 17:59:25

We should not have to fear for our children like this. I fear for my daughters, that something horrible may happen to them and it get blamed on how they were dressed. (I know it is not the same, but it is my touch stone for expanding empathy here.)

At least, we should also know that society in general will be at our backs with us should something horrible happen to our children. Not stabbing us in the back.

Good article!

Ashley Howard
3/27/2012 18:21:49

thanx!:)

BrotherJR link
3/27/2012 20:02:35

Very good article!!! I like the way you connected the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin and the underlying issue of racial profiling to the issues within your personal life as well as making a point of how this tragedy impacts larger society. I would love to share this if you don't mind.

Ashley Howarf
3/28/2012 05:58:34

I would love for you to share this with everyone! Thanx a lot! :-)

Crystal I.
3/28/2012 03:29:55

Great Article Ashley!

Ashley Howard
3/28/2012 05:59:40

Thanx you crystal!:-)

Shareef link
3/28/2012 10:10:37

It's interesting that the challenge of letting your voice heard is still fet in an era where we have more avenues than ever to express ourselves. Those fears that you outlined still exist even though we have social networking. Great piece.

Ashley Howard
3/28/2012 10:18:29

Thanx Shareef! I am grateful for the avenues that we have today that allow us to speak out. That's why I believe that more people should speak out given the opportunity .


Comments are closed.

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