Treyvon Martin

I first became aware of the Treyvon Martin incident shortly after it occurred. I found out about it not because Black folks rose up in protest, but because general interest media controlled by white folks, who apparently were just as outraged by it as the black community, thought it was news worthy.

Indeed it was newsworthy, but it took another month for the controversy to come to a full rolling boil. But just because it took mainstream broadcast media a few weeks to pick up the story doesn't make it race riot worthy. And they seem to be all over it now.

I remember being first saddened and then angered by the issue. Saddened for those who lost a child, angered by those who would seek to protect his killer. I remember thinking this had all the makings of a federal civil rights violation case written all over it and ultimately that looks like what it will turn out to be.

But before we go all tribal and turn this into a racist America versus Black America issue we should remember two things:

1. There are many white people who were and are just as outraged as black folks about this killing and therefore we shouldn't create separation where there is none.

2. After the killer has had his day in court there are still folks who need to be held to account for trying to subvert justice by protecting the killer. If these folks are not made to explain their actions then nothing has changed.

The good news is we have already found the answer to racism and posted it here 2 years ago. The question now is where is the constituency for murdered kids who don't fit into any minority group.

Can you hear me now?