I have not commented on the Trayvon Martin
case. The pain is too close, too real,
too agonizing; it sears my soul with the sharpness of a white hot scythe through wheat. In the middle of a conversation my words become
inaccessible; my heart skips a beat, my tears flow. In the middle of quiet moments, loud moments,
and all moments in between – I weep.
I am not angry at the man who pulled the trigger
that ended the life of a child who could have been, who could still be, my son,
my nephews, the children of my friends.
The man who stole the life of a child is not the issue. The trigger man did exactly what the system
in which we live trained him to do. You
don’t believe me? I can prove it. In one minute list as many positive
stereotypes as you can about African Americans, Black people, which have
nothing to do with sports, entertainment, or food. Now take another 1 minute and list the
negative stereotypes. Compare your
lists. Which list has more? Our society understand has taught us that
Trayvon Martin, that those who look like Trayvon Martin, are at worst to be
suspect, to be feared; at best to be pitied, to be patronized. Those who are “successful” are deemed exceptional;
those who fall into the criminal justice system are seen as normal because
after all, “there are more Black men in prison than in college.” A statistic
that is actually not true when one does the research; but, this inaccurate
statement has been repeated so often that now people question the real data. However, I digress. Still don’t believe me; still don’t believe
that the system masterminded the murder?
Take another minute and list as many movies or television shows that
depict African Americans being people, something in the vein of Cosby Show,
Living Single, Love Jones; or, to date myself, Julia or Christie Love. Now, in the same time frame do the same thing
about the majoritarian race. Compare the
lists. Reflect on the ease in which it
took to complete the lists. As a bonus,
turn on the television right now and count how many positive images of African
American, Latino, or Asian individuals you see.
Just do hash marks. Using the
same amount of time count the negative images.
When these activities are done, if you’re honest with yourself, you will
begin to see a pattern. Glaringly,
through the images shown through the media one is able to see what is
considered to be the measure of humanity.
Everything else is measured next to that standard.
The individual who pulled the trigger that murdered
Trayvon Martin did nothing outside of what our system has deemed
acceptable. My sadness is centered in
the awareness that the battle is not against one individual, it is not against
a group of individuals; it is against a system that has racism so deeply
embedded at its roots that oft times it’s not even recognized. My fight is against a system that repeatedly
reinforces 3/5. Don’t believe me? Go back to the lists you made earlier.
I know I have associates, colleagues, friends, who
will adamantly, vehemently, state race is not an issue. I request two things, first talk to someone
who experiences the world differently than you.
Second, and most important, accept what this person is saying as truth. I know this is hard, because if what this person
says is true, that means the world you painted for yourself is not that way for
others. It is the moment you realize the world is experienced differently for different people that you
will feel my sadness, my frustration, my righteous anger. It is at this moment that you will become an
ally in the War against Racism, the War against Inequity, the War against Discrimination. You will enlist to fight in these Wars to make
your picture a reality for all. I
welcome you in this War; however, I warn you, this is not a battle, it is a
War, and it is a War that is not for the weak.
It is a War that forces one to stand up to actively change the face of
the world. It is a War I engage in daily. Sometimes the battles that make up this war
are won by simply waking up, getting
dressed, and setting a standard of excellence. Sometimes the battles require me
to step out of my comfort zone and write, to speak out, to call wrong, wrong and right, right even
when it is not popular. Trayvon Martin’s murder is a tragedy. His unpunished murderer, is a travesty. The 440+ school age Black and Brown children
murdered in Chicago in 2012 is a tragedy.
The silence to these murders is a travesty. The under reported 1.6 million children and youth
in the United States that experience homelessness is a tragedy. The fact that this occurs in the United
States is a travesty.
The tragedies are why I weep; the travesties are why
I fight.
~Forward
Dr. Addie Lucille Ellis
