March 29
Hoodies, Skittles and a mother's nightmare
By Leslie Copeland-TuneI have a 12-year-old son. He is handsome, sweet and kind-hearted. He has a great sense of humor, is a good student, a sports fanatic and an avid reader. He is a Christian and loves a good sermon. He also enjoys imitating whooping in the Black Church tradition. He dreams of playing basketball in the NBA and then becoming a lawyer, a sportscaster or a preacher (he hasn’t decided which just yet). He says please and thank you, shakes people’s hands and looks them in the eyes when he’s talking to them (at least most of the time). He has good manners and good home training. I’ve tried to make sure of this because he is my son, I am his mother and that’s what mothers do — especially mothers who live with the daily reality and fear that in spite of all the good things about him, he is a target.
Leslie and her son, Jordan — Photo provided
You see, he is an African-American boy living in a country where he is unfairly judged by the color of his skin. He is treated like a criminal, not because he engages in criminal activity, but just because he is. When he goes to the store or when he’s at a restaurant, when he is expressing his sense of humor or doing the things that boys do, some people treat him as if there is something wrong with him — as if he needs Ritalin or some other medication that will make him “calm down,” while his counterparts of a lighter hue run and jump and play and make jokes and misbehave and are smiled at and encouraged. But he’s just a boy. A smart boy. A handsome boy. A boy with dreams. A boy who loves, cares, enjoys life and the things that boys enjoy. Like Skittles and iced tea … and hoodies. He is not unlike Trayvon Martin. And, every time I think about what happened to Trayvon, it brings me to tears and mourning and lamentation. Because in a surreal way, Trayvon is my son, too, and someone murdered my child.
Trayvon’s story is every mother’s nightmare come true. It keeps us up some nights. It’s what we worry about when they take too long at the store or are late coming in from riding their bike or playing with friends. It is particularly every African-American woman’s nightmare. But unlike bad dreams, this is a nightmare we have lived before. It is our history. It is our past. It is our present. It is our reality. And, if we don’t do something soon, it will be our future, our tomorrow.
Trayvon’s assassination catapults me back to a time and place and a way of life that I had hoped was behind us. Now, I’m not so naïve as to think that racism no longer exists because we have an African-American president, but I just didn’t imagine we would still have to bury our sons, brutally beaten or murdered, simply because of the color of their skin. I mean, come on! It validates and encourages my fear that every time my child is not within eyesight of me that he is potentially in danger because of someone’s hatred of him. It reminds me that no matter how wonderful he is, no matter how smart, no matter how hard I work to keep him out of trouble and to make sure he has a good head on his shoulders, that someone might just look at his beautiful, chocolate-colored skin and feel threatened. Not by him or anything he has done. At less than 80 pounds wet, he struggles to gain enough weight to play football. But, some racist person or some law enforcement officer might mistake something he does, deem him a threat and take his life. The life that God gave him through me. The life that God plans to use for God’s purposes. Someone may decide that they have the right to kill him and then go without prosecution or consequence for this evil act. I realize this, and I grieve and mourn and am afraid.
But, I’m also mad, outraged and beside myself with righteous indignation. While it is disheartening, tragic and agonizing to hear about, to think about, what happened to Trayvon, it is also an indictment on the character of a nation that does not always practice what it preaches, that is sometimes more immoral than moral, and more unjust than just, especially as it pertains to crimes committed against people of color.
Trayvon’s death is more than a tragedy. It is more than an unfortunate situation. It is our line in the sand. At least, it should be. How can we accept less than justice and jail time for George Zimmerman? There are no excuses or rationales that justify his vigilante-style execution of Trayvon Martin, returning to the home of his dad’s friend from the store with a pack of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea. Zimmerman indicted him as a criminal because he wore a hoodie — a sweatshirt — and ended his life. Our response to this atrocity will show our humanity and how far we’ve come in addressing bigotry and hatred … and racism. I am hopeful that the U.S. Department of Justice, working with state and local officials, will do the right thing, the moral thing, the just thing. If they do not, I pray that we will not stop demanding justice until justice is served.
In the meantime, I am on a mission to buy hoodies, Skittles and iced tea and to get ready for the fight. To march and to disrupt, to boycott and to protest, and to find ways to stand for righteousness, to stand for Trayvon and every boy and girl, man and woman, son and daughter, just like him.
Leslie Copeland-Tune serves in ministry at Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., and is on the board of Grace and Race Ministries Inc., an ecumenical ministry that advocates racial understanding, healing and reconciliation. This blog post is provided thanks to our partnership with Red Letter Christians.
Comments
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I want to thank you for this powerful blog post. While some try to claim that we are living in a post-racial age, the plain truth is that racism is pervasive. The murder of Trayvon Martin is a very real and tragic example. I pray that his death is not in vain.
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Sheldon, nobody promotes racisim as good as you do with the exception of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the Democratic Black Caucus.
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Dale,
Sheldon? Dale, did you post your comment in the wrong venue, or are you using non sequitur as a way to air your dirty laundry?
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Unfortunately, it’s not only young black men who are at risk. My 62-year-old husband appeared for jury duty in Fort Myers, Florida last Thursday (March 22) and was pulled out of the security check line, wanded, told to put his arms out and pull up his pant legs. When he informed the security officer that he was not appearing as a defendant but to serve jury duty, the man replied, “Yeah, so what?” I asked if any white people were pulled out of line. “They walked through without a second glance.” My husband. A retired Chicago police officer, nicely dressed, quiet and respectful, appearing to fulfill his civic duty, pulled out of line simply because of the color of his skin. Will we never learn?
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I, also, was a victim of a racial attack. I was riding my bicycle home from work,at about 1230 am. I heard a noise from behind me. I looked to my left and saw a young man on a bicycle pulling along side. I said 'good morning' and without warning the young man hit me in the face. I fell to the pavement onto the curb. Two other young men then came running up. They told the one who had hit me that "you hit an old man". I saw the chain had come off the bike and I finally got it back on. (All three of the young men waited until I got the chain back on the bike). When I started off, the one who had assaulted me (the leader) pretended he had a gun in his pants pocket, and with his bike, forced me over to a stop by the curb side. His friends followed. This occurred about three or four more times. The one on the bicycle finally asked if I had any money on me. I informed him I did. He asked if I would give him any money. I replied that if he (and his friends) had not assaulted me, I would have considered giving them money, but since they assaulted me, I would not give them anything. The young men on foot ran up behind me and tried to remove my wallet from my pocket. I knocked their hands away. The 'leader' looked at his friends and told them 'ok, let's go'. They then left and I proceeded home. My wife and daughter were horrified when I arrived home with a bloody face and a black eye. I continued to ride my bicycle to and from work but my wife and daughter were constantly concerned about my well-being from then on. They do not want me to ride my bike to or from work to this day. I AM A WHITE MALE AND WAS ASSAULTED BY THREE YOUNG BLACK MEN. Per you, I 'got what I deserved' because of mistreatment in the past to black/dark skinned peoples in this country. Ms. Copeland-Tune, would you consider this a racially motivated attack? I dare say you would not because, according to your article, racism/racially motivated attacks can only occur if it's white on black, not vice versa. Per your article, there is no racism among blacks/dark skinned people. If Trayvon had been killed by another black man, would you be outraged over this atrocity and call it a racially motivated killing? (because it could have been--his skin color could have offended someone because he wasn't black enough or was too 'white'). I would hope that your son, other than the skin color, was/is not like Trayvon Martin. Per school officials, Trayvon had been questioned about school theft and had been suspended from school for vandalism. Has your son stolen anything or committed vandalism? If he has, then he is like Trayvon and needs to be disciplined by his father (and you) before he gets into any further trouble. A blurb at the end of your article states you are on the board of 'Grace and Race Ministries', an ecumenical ministry that advocates "racial understanding, healing and reconciliation". Unfortunately, the invective and diatribe throughout your article shows that you do not really have the intention of advocating racial understanding, healing or reconciliation. You state "I am on a mission...to get ready for the fight. To march and to disrupt, to boycott and to protest..." (even though you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ) I would suggest if you really do not enjoy the privileges we as a people enjoy in this country, that you look at emigrating to another country where you do not have to be concerned about 'racism'. SORRY... you will find it wherever you go...because we are all sinners.
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If I may: I dare say that if I would have been murdered by these three young black men instead of just assaulted, Ms. Copeland-Tune would not would not have been ready to "fight, march, disrupt, boycott and protest' for my death. (even though I have acknowledged that I am a SINNER and believe that Christ died to save me from my past and CONTINUING sins.)
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Thank you Jeb for your putting this in proper perspective.
It was in early Oct, 2006 that five Amish school girls were murdered and five other girls were injured in what is known as the Nickel Mines school shooting. The Mennonites were quick to show the world how the Amish were slow to accuse and quick to forgive under very difficult circumstances.
Now we see the New Age Anabaptists Wisdom Thinkers quick to accuse and call for quick justice in the murder of Martin. The Anabaptists are quickly joining Obama, Sharpton and Jackson to declare the shooter guilty before a thorough investigation is completed.
Remember Obama was quick to accuse the Cambridge Police of racism and then later called the beer summit to apologize?
All this is evidence of racism by the accusers.
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There are many malicious, hateful, or even careless people in the world whose rash actions cause death. This happens about 14,000 times each year in the US. In this instance a homicide occurred and, what has gotten thoughtful people upset, left and right, is the apparent lack on the part of the officials to investigate aggressively. After a homicide, which are rarely justifiable, the police actively try to find the badguy, usually successfully. Sometimes they grab the wrong guy. Here, people should be upset and puzzled by a striking lack of curiosity and the conflicting accounts of witnesses.
Unfortunately, some people view the world through the exclusive lens of “racism” rather than evil, and thus open themselves to the criticism of ignoring the larger part of the problem. In the Mennonite world, one sure way to get an article published is to write about racism, especially during Black History Month. And that has much value, especially regarding jobs, profiling, and housing. But the author must be prepared for rough sailing by bringing crime into a discussion of race. That is because of the high rate of crimes committed by blacks and minorities. The homicide offending rate for blacks is currently about seven times that for whites. Blacks murder whites about 18 times the rate that whites murder blacks. The rape/sexual assault statistics are even more surprising: in 2005, about 47% of white victims were attacked by a white aggressor, the other 53% being non-white. For black rape/assault victims, 100% of the attackers were black, and zero percent were white.
A wealth of information about practical crime can be obtained from police officers, but MWR rarely solicits their input.
But I have sympathy for the author: she is undoubted confronted in daily life by people who are unable to muster reasoned arguments, but instead simply blurt out their pet peeves. People like Dale Welty.
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