The Hue and Cry

Forty-five days after gunning down Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman was finally charged with second-degree murder by the Florida state attorney Angela Corey. Despite the late arrival of this column, like legions of others, I've been incensed and increasingly outraged over this case since Day One. As a citizen and as a mother, the unacceptable delay in arresting Zimmerman made me apoplectic. When the NBC Nightly News flashed the headline "Boiling Mad" some weeks ago, they used the same words I've been spewing in my house since late February. Unless you live under a rock you already know this story. The death of the unarmed seventeen-year-old Martin is rife with racial tension, insane legislation (Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law) as well as incompetence and/or corruption in the Sanford police department. People rallied and marched daily. Most would agree that if the players in this drama were reversed, if Martin had been the shooter, he would have been hauled off to jail, pronto.

Now, thanks to an overwhelming demand for justice across the nation, Zimmerman will stand trial. But it took blanket media coverage, Americans turning out in great numbers to protest, and the unwavering determination of the Martin family to achieve their goal. Some of the lawyers and leaders surrounding the Martins are speaking of the Trayvon moment becoming a movement. It's long overdue. Martin's death has drawn attention to the clear disparity between treatment of blacks and whites in the criminal justice system. One can only hope that the senseless death of a teenager will foster greater scrutiny into racial bias across the board.