PEACE – Trayvon!
March 30, 2012 by Las Vegas Black Image Magazine
Filed under Highlights, Peace
With the recent killing of our young brother, Trayvon Martin, it has been hard to find peace. God makes room in eternity when tragedy strikes, but the pain on Earth lingers, and we struggle to make sense of it all.
His murder — and the manner in which his life was taken — gives the world another window into the everyday realities faced by young black men. Misplaced suspicion, mistaken identity and the prevalence of guns create a deadly cocktail that cuts short too many lives.
The slate, in fact, is not clean. Activism has risen to the point where even President Barack Obama (“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon”) has taken his figurative hoodie out of the closet. A collective of righteous outrage is formed; and in our grief, we work to sew more tightly the fabric of a nation riven by racial profiling. Knowledge is the key to overcoming the ignorance behind this newest form of institutionalized racism, and it takes work to find the answers we seek.
History has demonstrated the power of educating one another and changing the system. Trayvon’s death has reawakened the nation, and black people have again been summoned to take the lead in calling attention to injustice. A gathering has been called, and our voices roll like chimes, in rhythm with the hymns and spirituals that helped guide our ancestors out of bondage.
All people are being mobilized to the gateway of a future where we stand as one. Together, we say never again. No more. In those cries, we can find peace.