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Trayvon Martin

Blog 45. Ferguson: The Tip of the Iceberg?

For several weeks of August, the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri received massive coverage from the media, nationally and internationally. Although the actions of Brown and Wilson took only a few moments, they exposed long-standing racial tensions that are found not only in Ferguson but in cities around the country. For the moment, relative calm has returned to Ferguson and the city has moved out of the media spotlight. While both of those conditions may change, this may be a time to take stock of what we know and don’t know and to consider the implications of Ferguson for other cities.Read More »Blog 45. Ferguson: The Tip of the Iceberg?

Special Bulletin: The Zimmerman Acquittal

Today’s plan had been to publish Blog No. 6, Part II, The Voting Rights Act and the Challenge before Congress. But in light of the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, and the reactions it produced, it seemed appropriate first to comment briefly on that case. The Voting Rights Act blog will be published later this week.

Reactions to the acquittal of George Zimmerman demonstrated once again the depth of the racial tensions with which we continue to struggle. Protests against the acquittal as racist are almost certainly mistaken: the forensic evidence was conflicting and ambiguous; what little eyewitness testimony there was seemed on balance to favor Zimmerman; the crucial details of the last moments of the fatal encounter remain shrouded in mystery. In short, the prosecution was unable to rebut Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense. Under those circumstances it is difficult to see how a jury could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, irrespective of the race of the participants. (And contrary to some comment, Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law did not appear to play any role in the verdict.)Read More »Special Bulletin: The Zimmerman Acquittal