Rest in Peace, Trayvon Martin

As many of you have heard, the jury reached a verdict yesterday and Zimmerman was found guilty and naturally, emotions ran high. It hit me hard, like really hard. I can't believe he is walking free. So many fingers are being pointed. I don't know..I had a lot of things going through my mind and even if I don't want to admit it, the whole situation all does boil down to race.

I can say the prosecution didn't come hard enough, I can say the jury was biased, I can say there were no facts but ultimately the stereotype against a young black boy wearing a hoodie is what has him dead today. How the important fact that, if Zimmerman didn't follow Trayvon as instructed and just waited for the cops that his life might have been saved or if Zimmerman didn't have a gun, he might still be alive. Why didn't his self defense have him shot in the leg or something to immobilize him and not to his death? Where does self defense come in when this young man was unarmed? I don't know man but it's just such a reminder of the world we live in.

I watch Big Brother, the summer reality show where housemates are locked in a house all summer and this summer it's been making headlines for all the racism going on in the house. I watched a video clip, last week where the white girls were antagonizing the black girl (they'd taken her mattress and thrown her pillows around) when she asked who did it, the white girl said in her version of a "sassy black girl" said "whatchu gonna dooo girl?" and was rolling her neck and snapping fingers. Another went to her face and said "what are you gonna do? let the black out of you?" What does that even mean? The clip made me so sad, that in this day and age, this is what we are still experiencing in our "post racial" society.

We can bury our heads in the sand and maybe say African Americans are doing the most, but as I have said before, We Nigerians, can be quite closed minded. We might never understand their struggles or think we are "different" but ultimately to the rest of the world we are all black. And honestly, it could happen to any one of us or our people. The most important thing right now is wishing the comfort and grace of God to the family and loved ones of Trayvon Martin and also for everyone else who has been a victim of injustice and paid dearly for it with their lives. May God keep us safe and protect us always.

PS RIP Cory Monteith.