Not one to mince words, nor let a few dollars of income affect my sense of self. Let me get right to the issue at hand. I want to make it clear that the Trayvon Martin killing is a travesty. Every aspect of it is a repeat of history and a reminder of humanity's "tug of war" on wanting to actually get to that long awaited "Mountain Top" we as a people are supposed to reach. On this occasion, the global community is in full effect.
Respect to Lebron James for taking the lead with his squad to make sure that justice was forced to lift its veils on this tragedy. But, point blank, in the words of Method Man, "My people [the music community], if you with me, where the $!*# you at?" Here we are, sitting on thousands of potential "trumpets for justice" (aka microphones), but late in the game on mobilization. How is that? In history, it was the voice of music that led the Underground Railroad, heightened the Revolution in Egypt, put the Dixie Chicks on the battlefield of politics, had Kanye speak out on Bush (when everybody else's pockets had them retreat), and helped Jay-Z make sure that everyone knew who DJ Henry was. Now, all of the sudden, all these "microphone killers," that lyrically cut their brothers down every day are silent. And I ain't feeling that at all! What we need are some lyrical soldiers on deck. Otherwise, like Rakim once said long ago, "drop the mic, you shouldn't be holding it." In deed "this ain't no joke," if anything, it is a continuous pattern. Let us not forget Emmet Till. If you don't know your history, you are definitely due to repeat it. Case in point.
So, how do we justify our inaction? We have a 17-year-old kid pleading for his life while a half-wit like Gerlado Rivera is left worrying about him wearing a hoodie? History went from people with hoods on killing us, to now getting killed because we are wearing hoods? Everyone has the right to protect their family and property, if that's what they are doing. Nonetheless, that law in Florida is due for repeal because not everything that is "legal" is moral or right. There is a big difference between a "neighborhood watch" and somebody "watching the neighborhood!" This reminds me of the "Black Code" era; a group of people more concerned not with watching for crimes, but thinking it's a crime for a black person to even be in their neighborhood. No one should attempt to start shuffling the deck in the hopes that I am about playing the "race card." I am too conscious for that. I recognize there's a lot of white people on the frontline of this, while some so-called "people of color" are froze up like they're under attack by a schoolyard bully.
Trayvon Martin's life, like Martin Luther King Jr.'s, has been laid down to wake us up. The American Dream is an "all inclusive" dream, but when it becomes inactive on issues such as this, we put the dream in "deferred" mode. Let us not play politics with the passing with this young man's life. The Declaration of Independence is made up of 1,458 words but they are silenced if we can't insure that youth like Trayvon Martin can't live long enough to enjoy them.
I, too, am wearing my hoodie while continuing to awaken the dream.