The Reverend Nancy J. Benson-Nicol is the Associate for Gender and Racial Justice in Office of Gender and Racial Justice.
Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. (Jeremiah 31:15, NRSV).
In the wake of the verdict of “not guilty” in the case of the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman, there is one indisputable and irreversible fact: Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager, is dead. A promising young life was cut short by an act of violence that could have, and should have, been prevented. That so many lives have been tragically cut short by gun violence is appalling evidence of the brokenness of humankind.
More evidence of our brokenness exists in our all-too-frequent tendency as a society to unreservedly categorize people of color in general, and black male youths in particular, as dangerous threats to safety and security. Be it conscious or beyond our awareness, this pernicious bias pervades all areas of society, and played a fatal role in the untimely death of young Mr. Martin by the hand of George Zimmerman. Had he been perceived to “belong,” Trayvon would not have been pursued as a threat at the onset, and would have lived to see the measure of his days. But Trayvon is not alive; he does not possess that privilege, while George Zimmerman lives on; and continues to possess his power, his privilege and, indeed, his very existence.
Though there are conflicting testimonies and pieces of evidence in this case, it is clear that the suspicion of racial difference contributed to how the course of events has been characterized. While an individual court case cannot bear the burden of responsibility for resolving a nation’s discord on the subject of race, nonetheless, the verdict rendered in this particular case lays bare the unbalanced scales of justice that would allow for the killing of a young, unarmed black male to go unpunished.
That the value and character of the victim of a fatality would be held under suspicion to the extent exhibited in this trial is an injustice lamented by many people of all shades and colors. The lament by people of color, in particular, rests in the disquieting notion that the safety of their children is of little consequence, and that those who cause them harm will not be held accountable. I cannot help but recall the remarks by a guest on a popular talk show many years ago; she was an African-American mother of a young man slain by gun violence, speaking on her petition to open an investigation into his murder: “a big challenge was in convincing the public that my son deserved to live in the first place.” The apparent de-valuing, or under-valuing, of young black life in our society causes deep and profound pain and finds its roots in the plague of racism that infects our history and diseases our present life together as a nation.
The elimination of racism and all forms of injustice, both in the hearts of individuals and as embedded in the systems and structures of society, remains a challenge unresolved by our current generation. It is, however, a task for which we all must rise, peaceably, to the occasion, for the lives of all God’s children are at stake. What is more, our efforts in eliminating injustice demonstrates the work that God is unfolding in our midst to build the Beloved Community; to advance God’s Realm; in which, as the book of Revelation describes,
“[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more…” (21:4).
May it be so.
Links,
