Nathan Crites-Herren
The Paw Print
With the forty-fourth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, it once again seems that the racial equality which King and other human rights activists have struggled for is far from a reality in America. Trayvon Martin, a black youth shot dead earlier this year, combined with the most recent police killing of a 68 year old black Veteran Kenneth Chamberlain showcases the ugly, ingrained and institutionalized racist attitudes of a broken American justice system and white-privileged society.
The killing of Martin, in particular strikes a chord with the infamous Jim-Crow era killing of a young black youth, Emmett Till. Till was murdered in the Mississippi Delta for simply being black and having the “audacity” to speak to a white woman. With his 14 year old body brutally mutilated, Till was found floating in the Tallahatchie River, tied to a 70 pound cotton gin. His killers were never brought to justice. In fact, after their acquittal, his killers openly bragged about torturing and murdering Till to local newspapers.
George Zimmerman, the killer of Martin put a 9mm bullet through the 17 year olds chest, killing him shortly thereafter. Just like Till, Martin was walking out of a neighborhood convince store and was targeted because of his skin color. In the audio tapes of Zimmerman’s 911 calls released by the Florida Police Department, it is plainly clear that Zimmerman was intending to physically confront Martin, despite police orders to stand down.
What relates the murder of Till and Martin is the fact that not only both were black youth, but the justice system, which is required by the very laws it mandates to prosecute egregious crimes such as these, did and is doing absolutely nothing to apprehend the known killer. Despite overwhelming evidence available to take Martins killer to trail, no action has been taken by the prosecution to bring justice for the Martin family.
The parallels between the Till and Martin killings are clear, institutionalized racism and an overall white-conservative racist attitude fostered the environment in which these type of killings could and repeatedly do take place.
The police, the ground forces in this broken judicial system represent the brutality and racist hatred manifested throughout the era of Jim-Crow policies, and on to its newest counterparts the war on drugs and the prison industrial complex. The killing of Vietnam War Veteran, Kenneth Chamberlain by the New York Police Department is another of a long list of black people who have met their death at the hands of the men in blue.
Like the majority of police shootings involving black people, the usual and convenient line of self-defense is used to defend police actions. However, in the case of Chamberlain who was shot to death in his home by police, while still in his boxer briefs and unarmed, raises the same issues brought up time and time again. Is there really any justice for not only black peoples, but all peoples of color in this nation?
While the recent cases of Martin and Chamberlain are set to be looked over by the justice system in a token gesture of professionalism, the result may very well be one where justice is not served. The racial history of this country combined with the justice systems tendency to protect police officers in shooting incidents, will most likely produce a scripted judgment that would find Zimmerman innocent on the basis of “self-defense” and find the un-named officers responsible for the Chamberlain killing innocent for similar reasons.
Perhaps justice for the marginalized peoples of color in this nation must be sought elsewhere than in the court room. Indeed the civil rights movement of generations before is not over, and its cries continue to be muffled and ignored by those in power, leaving many wondering when and how justice will be done.
What’s Been Said…