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Summary: A tragic event has led to a national uproar. The death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was because of one neighborhood watchman’s rash actions. George Zimmerman shot and killed the young man in Florida. Zimmerman is claiming self-defense and that he was the one assaulted by Martin. But as facts slowly churn out into the public, we learn that this event occurred in a gated community as Martin was walking home wearing a hoodie after just buying a pack of skittles. Zimmerman reported suspicious activity and followed Martin until the apparent scuffle took place where Zimmerman had no alternative but to shoot the 17-year-old. This article goes on to state Zimmerman’s legal advisor claims his client did not act out of racism but out of defense of his own life. Due to constant death threats of angered citizens, Zimmerman has gone into hiding, but still remains in the United States. The legal advisor has told Zimmerman to cooperate with vast amount of new investigations that are going to be held. Since facts are limited, A grand jury is to be held to communicate all information we know. There is just a very large gray area of time when the event occurred where not much is known. The evidence is so limited that the decision of Zimmerman’s fate is not an obvious one.

Relevance: Historically, the divide of White and Black people has been indescribable. In only the last few scores of years has White and Black been able to coexist in the same environment. In many comparable situations, The majority, in this case white people, have been very unaccepting of the minority, in this case African Americans. This unaccepting approach of the minority has led to many violent racist events in history. This racism has lived and thrived in this country since its birth. This event gives just another title to add to the long list of violent acts against African Americans. The tragic event of Trayvon Martin’s death is one of many racist events where a young black man was killed for what seems like little reason. For example, in 1916 a 17-year-old, Jesse Washington, was disfigured, burned, tortured, and lynched for a disputed crime. This all occurred when a 53 year old white woman was found murdered in the field. Washington signed a confession but it was clear that he was illiterate and possibly mentally handicapped. A similar case is the Lynching of Ell Persons. He was accused of raping and murdering a young girl. Before his trial, he was abducted by a lynch party that burned him alive and disfigured his body. Another example was Emmitt Till. This young man supposedly whistled, generally considered flirting, with another White woman. He was soon abducted, nearly beat to death, shot, and tossed into the river. These cases were completely motivated by racism while George Zimmerman’s motives have yet to be identified as racist. History seems to just keep repeating itself as the majority race has still not accepted the minority.

Explanation: This racism is a direct result of slavery. Since white people spent hundreds of years commanding black people, a social divide was created. Only recently have these two races united as a nation. But through the information of this article our nation has discovered the social divide has either re-opened, or never been fully closed. Slavery has left a foul-scented legacy through American history. Racism has stained our history books and continues to make headlines in today's culture. Again, the death of Trayvon Martin has not been proven to be a result of a racist neighborhood watchman. Although, if it was an event spurred by racism, it was not the first and I doubt it will be the last.

Questions: What really happened the night Trayvon Martin’s death? What did Zimmerman see that spurred his actions? Were Zimmerman’s motives truly racist? Why were Africans used for slaves? Is racism still a threatening force in american culture? (racism still alive) Why didn’t Americans notice how wrong racism was after the discovery of Jewish death camps?

Works Cited: "Emmett Till." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Jan. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. < __http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till>.__

"Lawyer Advising Trayvon's Killer Denies Racism, as Prosecutor Vows 'we're Going to Get to the Truth'" Fox News. FOX News Network, 24 Mar. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. < __http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/24/lawyer-advising-trayvons-killer-denies-racism-as-prosecutor-vows-were-going-to/>.__

"Lynching of Ell Persons." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Mar. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Ell_Persons>.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Lynching of Jesse Washington." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Jan. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Jesse_Washington>.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Shooting of Trayvon Martin." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 May 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. < <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin>.__