Felipe Diaz

Justice for Trayvon Martin

The increasingly notorious shooting of 17-year-old African-American, Trayvon Martin, on Feb. 26 has set off a national outcry for justice. Martin was walking home from a convenience store in Sanford, Fla. when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a local neighborhood watch volunteer.

Although Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, told police he shot Martin in self-defense, audio tapes of the 911 calls recently released by the police department reveal that Zimmerman actually followed and confronted Martin.

Wendy Dorival, the police department’s volunteer coordinator, said in an interview that using a gun in the neighborhood watch role is out of the question.

She said, “Members of a neighborhood watch are not supposed to confront anyone. We get paid to get into harm’s way. You don’t do that. You just call them from the safety of your home or your vehicle.”

Despite this, Zimmerman has not been arrested and no files have been charged against him.

He justifies himself with Florida’s law, Stand Your Ground, which states that citizens have the right to protect themselves using deadly force, rather than retreat, if they believe they are in imminent danger of being killed or badly injured.

However, critics point to the fact that Zimmerman followed and confronted Martin, despite being told to remain in his vehicle by the police operator.

As a result, hundreds marched through the streets of New York City last Wednesday night in memory of Martin and to protest the absence of a proper investigation, in what organizers called the “Million Hoodie March.”

The protest came the same week the Department of Justice announced it had opened an inquiry into the shooting and the state attorney in Seminole County said a grand jury would be convened for the case.

During a House floor speech, Florida Representative Frederica Wilson, said, “Today, I applaud the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI, and the Federal Department of Justice for their intervention. I encourage the citizens of Florida and the citizens from around the world to continue to fight for justice for Trayvon Martin. Justice must be served. No more racial profiling.”

However, at the rally at Union Square where the march began, Martin’s parents spoke to the crowd and said, “Our son is your son… It’s not about a black-and-white thing; it’s just about a right-and-wrong thing.”

They are absolutely correct. In essence, Trayvon Martin is a cross-cultural issue, if not a human one, and every American, regardless of skin color, should be concerned with the lack of justice in the case.

Neighborhood watch volunteers are still considered ordinary citizens, not glorified vigilantes. And they are most certainly not allowed to take the law into their own hands then hide behind the shroud of self-defense.