culture

(The Root) — It’s been an emotional, infuriating, draining day for those who digested the harsh reality that George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. But that didn’t stop supporters of the Martin family from taking to the cable news shows to defend his legacy and push for more…

President Barack Obama released a statement Sunday afternoon calling for “calm reflection” in the aftermath of a Florida jury’s acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy.  Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America.  I know this case…

White supremacy in America had much to do with the not-guilty verdict on charges of manslaughter and second-degree murder in the George Zimmerman trial, according to the Nation. Zimmerman, described by some as “white Hispanic,” operated under the logic of white supremacy — and so did the jury. In the last few days, Latinos in…

Beyoncé called for a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin while performing in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday during her Mrs. Carter tour, after a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of the unarmed 17-year-old teenager, the Washington Post reports. It was among a range of reactions by celebrities across the nation after an…

Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, took to Twitter to express their profound grief after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the shooting death of their son, the Daily Mail reports. They were not present in the courtroom as the verdict was read.  Trayvon Martin’s heartbroken mother has poured her heart out onto…

(The Root) — By the time George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Trayvon Martin, the state of Florida had long since lost its case against him. Possibly several times over. Maybe it was June 28, the fourth day of testimony, when the prosecution made the risky decision to call to the stand the…

Demonstrators gathered peacefully around the nation early Sunday to express disappointment over George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of the unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin nearly a year ago in Sanford, Fla., according to various media outlets. In Florida, there were pockets of small peaceful gatherings throughout the state. The Washington Post reports that marchers took…

(The Root) — America is racist at its core. I used to doubt this simplistic claim. Today I cannot. The murder of Trayvon Martin demands total, simple, honesty. A jury in Florida failed us. We have not seen a moral failure this grave since a similarly all-white jury in Simi Valley, Calif., in 1992 acquitted…

Contending that female victims are “so often omitted from the narratives of violence” in the African-American community, the Guardian‘s Jamila Aisha Brown suggests that if Trayvon Martin had been a young black woman, her name would be unknown. What if Trayvon Martin had been a black woman? CNN host Piers Morgan posed this hypothetical question to Marc Lamont Hill on Tuesday night:…