2nd Civil Rights Movement?

Recently I have been seeing a lot of articles in the newspaper and online about a shooting in Sanford, Florida where a young boy was shot. It is presumed that the shooter acted out of racist judgment. I surprised with what I have read. It was very shocking that the man who shot him is not being held accountable for his actions. In case you haven’t heard anything about it, I’ll give you a short recap of what most of the reports say.

On February 26^th, Trayvon Martin was walking to his dad’s fiancé’s home from a nearby convenience store.  That night he was shot by a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, George Zimmerman. Reports state that Zimmerman shot the 17-year-old in self-defense. Zimmerman claims that he thought young Martin looked “suspicious” because he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. However, police reported that Martin only had an iced tea and a bag of candy in his pocket and was clearly not armed. As of now Zimmerman is not being charged with anything. To my understanding, the boy’s family is trying to change that.

An article on CBS News reported that Bobby Rush, the U.S. Representative for Illinois, was escorted from the House floor for wearing a hoodie and sunglasses in support of Martin. He talked about how he wanted a further investigation of the situation. After being questioned by journalists a month after the death, President Obama expressed his compassion for Martin’s family and made no comment on racial injustice. Within the community of the incident, protestors carried around signs that said “Justice for Trayvon”, vowing to protest until an arrest has been made for Zimmerman.

Some people accuse Zimmerman of following him because he was black, and others say that the teen attacked Zimmerman before he shot him. While the details might not be completely accurate, the effects of this story have been big.  Is this the beginning of the next civil rights movement? I’m not quite sure but I do believe that racism still exists even though some think that that time of history has passed. However, I am still not convinced that a full forced movement, like in the 1950s and 60s, is necessary. The laws protecting minorities are in place. Although I do believe it is important to remember that racism will almost always be present, it is impossible to change the opinions of everyone in America. Therefore it is vital that the judicial system handles the various situations to protect those who are profiled and make verdicts based on reliable, unbiased information.