Tragedy vs. Travesty

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