A Hoodie doesn't make one a hoodlum. Or does it?
As the Trayvon Martin case slowly fades from the news, I have to ask myself, "Was this a teaching moment for all of us or just another one of those 'wardrobe malfunctions' that usually afflict Hollywood stars?"
First let me say, with the information we've been afforded by the news, I find there to be little doubt that Mr. Zimmerman acted carelessly, probably with malice, and certainly should not have been on the neighborhood watch and most definitely, not carrying a weapon.
That being said, and at the risk of being too honest, which has never stopped me before, the whole incident has given me pause to think about my reactions to black males, young and old. I believe I have always made a sincere attempt to transform the bias and profiling that seemed so in-grained in my parents' generation. I heard the slurs, the name calling, the jokes based on the color of other peoples' skin. The comments made me cringe as a child and they still do today. But prejudice is hard to eradicate from the head even when the heart says it's baseless and wrong.
Am I more cautious about locking my car doors when I drive through a black neighborhood? Walking alone in a parking lot, do I feel a tinge of fear just a little more if there is a black man rather than a white man walking toward me? Do I automatically assume the black man that pulls up next to me driving the new Mercedes has to be a professional athlete?
You've probably figured out my answer to all these questions. I have been shocked and saddened the last few weeks to become aware, and painfully acknowledge that I have not done a stellar job at removing the prejudices of those before me.
I hope for myself, and maybe for you too, that Trayvon's death, regardless of the circumstances, will prompt all of us to look a little deeper inside, to grow a little more in humanity, to make a personal vow that this young man's death is not overlooked as an opportunity to better ourselves and the world we share with every religion and race.
This was not a wardrobe malfunction. Dark skin and a Hoodie do not make one a criminal, but thinking that it does is a malfunction of the human spirit.
As Ellen Degeneres says at the end of each show...Let's be kind to each other.
Between the lines,
LA
