Today, we remember Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black boy fatally shot by neighbourhood watch captain George Zimmerman in a gated community in a suburb of Orlando, Florida, USA.
Zimmerman claimed to act in self-defence on 26 February 2012 when he shot Miami-born Martin, whom he termed a ‘real suspicious guy.’ Martin was a teenager guilty of no crime. Yet, the US media questioned him post-mortem for wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, holding a bag of Skittles candy and a can of iced tea as he took an evening stroll.
Police said they could not arrest Zimmerman due to Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, which allows people to defend themselves using lethal force. However, Florida’s governor appointed a special prosecutor to investigate.
Martin’s death sparked widespread protests across the US, leading to the launch of the global Black Lives Matter movement. Despite the outcry, a court acquitted Zimmerman. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice’s investigation concluded Zimmerman’s action did not constitute a hate crime.
The case raised alarms among white supremacist groups and individuals who provided material support to Zimmerman. One ‘Muslim-free’ Florida gun shop sold Zimmerman’s painting of a Confederate flag, which supporters of the pre-abolition US South used during the US Civil War (1861-65). It has since symbolised a longing for the days of US chattel slavery.
Zimmerman is reportedly of partial Afro-Peruvian descent, which some people later used to dismiss that he was prejudiced against Black people.
To this day, institutionalised white supremacy reigns, allowing innocent Black people in the US to be slain with impunity.