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From Racialicious:
Once again, a young person of color is dead, and hundreds of thousands of people are hoping for justice to be served. Less than a year ago, it was Troy Davis. This week, it’s Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Florida boy shot and killed by George Zimmerman, who remains free after authorities were criticized for allegedly protecting Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch aptain.
Tuesday night, the U.S. Justice Department announced it would investigate the slaying of Martin. And, especially in light of what we’ve learned about not only Zimmerman, but the social climate around him that enabled him to not only feel justified in an abhorrent sense of paranoia toward young black men, but to continue walking the streets after bringing about the worst possible outcome of that entitlement, the question comes to mind again: Will they get it right this time?
From Michelle Alexander:
Is this 1962 or 2012? The fact that the Justice Department has to step in and investigate a vigilante killing of a black teenager — because the local authorities refuse to arrest the killer — is more than a little reminiscent of an era we supposedly left behind. People have been asking me “what can I do besides sign online petitions?” There’s a whole lot people can do. We’ve got to get serious about consciousness-raising and organizing in our communities. We’ve got to move beyond these bursts of outrage in response to travesties of justice (think Troy Davis, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, and Trayvon Martin) and awaken to the reality that Jim Crow justice is alive and well.
These aren’t isolated, disconnected events. Use this tragedy to start a broader conversation in your school, your place of worship, your workplace, or your community center, about what is necessary to end this new Jim Crow system — a system that our nation keeps pretending doesn’t really exist. Honor Trayvon’s memory by challenging yourself to do more — to make a real commitment to join or begin a movement for justice right where you are, wherever you are. Outrage is not enough.
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