[jwplatform yAYg6nHE]
Many members of the Black community are enraged by the recent decision of the U.S. Department of Justice to not bring charges against George Zimmerman. Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed teen Trayvon Martin and was found not guilty based on Florida’s “stand your ground” defense.
MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry recently expressed what many are now feeling. She declared during a speech at Cornell University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture that:
“I hope [Martin] tried to stay alive. I hope he knew that he lived in a state with a ‘stand your ground’ law. And I hope he whooped the s— out of George Zimmerman … and it’s not disreputable because he encountered a stranger who was prepared to kill him, and you know how I know? Because he killed him.”
Her comments were titled, “We Can’t Breathe: The Continuing Consequences of Inequality,” and were criticized in student social media.
