The Zimmerman Jury Told Young Black Men What They Already Knew
by CORD JEFFERSON
Tonight a Florida mans acquittal for hunting and killing a black teenager who was armed with only a bag of candy serves as a Rorschach test for the American public. For conservatives, its a triumph of permissive gun laws and a victory over the liberal media, which had been unfairly rooting for the dead kid all along. For liberals, it's a tragic and glaring example of the gaps that plague our criminal justice system. For people of color, its a vivid reminder that we must always be deferential to white people, or face the very real chance of getting killed.
When I was junior in college in Virginia, my then-girlfriend and I decided one night to meet up for a quick snack while studying for midterms. We bought some sandwiches at a 24-hour deli and, rather than waste time going to either of our homes, which were in opposite directions, we decided to eat in her car in a parking lot near a fancy hotel off-campus. We were listening to music and laughing about something when I saw a security guards headlights in the rear view mirror, and I stopped laughing as I watched hima white man in his mid-40swalk up to my girlfriends door and ask her to step out of the car. Uh, OK, she said, clearly as confused as I was about what wed done to warrant his attention.
He walked her away from her car toward his, but they were close enough that I could hear their conversation. He asked her her name, a slight southern lilt lengthening his vowels. She told him. Then he said, Are you OK?
What do you mean? she said.
Are you safe right now? he asked again.
My girlfriend was white. I am not.
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