I’ve remained fairly quiet during the whole Trayvon Martin situation. I remember briefly showing public support last year by putting up a picture of myself in a hoodie as my Facebook profile pic. And that’s about as far as that went for me. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not stating these facts because they make me feel proud. But I must also clarify that at the same time I don’t fee guilty for not doing more.I’m actually proud to say that I had better to do than watch the trial unfold. Had I really had the time, I’m sure I would have caught a few glimpses, but I did not catch one single solitary frame of that thing. After all, my support or lack there of would have no affect on the trial’s outcome.
My mother happened to be visiting while the whole thing was going on and she tried to call me out for not giving a shit. In all fairness to me, it’s not that I didn’t give a shit about what happened, I just could not influence the outcome by watching. Surely someone might try to call me out on spending time watching sporting events or movies even though the outcomes won’t be influenced by my eyes. But those are very different forms of entertainment than the trial of a man that murdered a kid.
So after it was all said and done, Zimmerman walked and the nation waited for Negroes to lose their fucking minds. Burn shit, loot, rape, kill neighborhood watchmen and do crack cocaine in the streets. Alright, they weren’t expecting all that, but they were concerned about riots breaking out. Instead, what they got were some mild-mannered marches and sit-ins. I’ll be honest I was a little concerned as well and am glad that things went the way they did and not how some expected them to go. What did happen, however, was a reawakening of the issue of race in America and the reactivation of a new breed of activism.
One of the emerging organizations of this movement are the Dream Defenders, led by fellow FAMUan, Philip Agnew. I’ve been impressed with the action they have taken, the attention they have garnered and the momentum they have built up. I don’t know if I’ve gotten too comfortable with my lot in life, but the rare bright sides of tragedies like these is the wake up call that one gets that shakes them out of complacency. I know that, had I still been in Tallahassee, where the sit-ins at the capitol have been taking place, I would surely be in that number. I mean if I would occupy the capitol for that Bush shit in 2000, I’m sure I’d get involved in this movement.
But I live way over in Texas and have a job I’d like to keep, so siting in over in Florida is out of the cards for me at the moment. In the meantime, I’ll gladly and openly support my fellow brothers and sisters holding it down and making an impact on the world they live in today. I stand behind the Dream Defenders and trust that they have the guidance necessary to make real change possible. You may not agree with their methods or their demands, but you must respect their resolve. As for me, I appreciate them for not only defending the dream, but keeping it alive.