Category Archives: Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin Tragedy Could Spur the Emergence of a “National Anti-Racial Profiling Fund”

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There’s much expectation that outrage and anguish over the Trayvon Martin tragedy will spark a “movement” to combat racial profiling and focus the nation’s attention on finding solutions to the problem. [See the previous blog post: A Potent Anti-Profiling Movement As the Silver Lining From the Trayvon Martin Tragedy.]

A movement could emerge in the form of a grassroots effort led by students and young people, possibly with funding from a few affluent people. Or, a group of not-so-affluent people could pool financial and other resources to jump-start one. A few groups have already been formed but it is obviously too early to determine what sort of movement will ultimately emerge. Continue reading →

Trayvon Martin Tragedy Impact: Will Affluent Blacks Finance an Anti-Profiling Movement/Fund?

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The Trayvon Martin tragedy was a shocking reminder to every black person that he/she could easily be a victim of racial profiling, possibly with deadly consequences. The horrible incident could have happened to any black man or any black person’s son, brother, nephew, cousin, etc., however wealthy or well-accomplished they may be (see excerpt below from a column piece by the Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson).

Would (at least) a few affluent African Americans therefore feel strongly enough about racial profiling to help jump-start a potent anti-racial profiling movement or fund? (See previous blog posts: Trayvon Martin Tragedy Could Spur the Emergence of a “National Anti-Racial Profiling Fund”; A Potent Anti-Profiling Movement As the Silver Lining From the Trayvon Martin Tragedy.) Continue reading →

A Potent Anti-Profiling Movement as the Silver Lining of the Trayvon Martin Tragedy

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Hope/expectation that the Trayvon Martin tragedy will have a silver lining by spurring a potent movement to combat racial stereotyping/profiling–excerpts:

Keli Goff, The Gift That Trayvon Gave All of Us: How the Trayvon Martin Tragedy Can Save Black America. TheLoop21.com/Huffington Post. 26 March 2012.

…[I]n my parents’ generation (they both grew up in the segregated South) a store simply hung a sign that said “No Coloreds” allowed. Today a store wouldn’t dream of doing that and yet most black people I know, and most black celebrities have a story (often more than one) about being blatantly denied service at a store due to race. In the case of Oprah Winfrey on two separate occasions at two different stores the stores in question locked the doors and claimed to be closed when she attempted to enter. In the case of Condoleezza Rice, a sales clerk questioned whether she could actually afford the jewelry she was eyeing. To those who have never endured such experiences, they may sound like minor indignities. But the Trayvon Martin case illustrates how easily subtle racism — which usually involves racial profiling — can escalate from indignity to death. Continue reading →