Trayvon's Family Shouldn't Have to Play Nice

Jamilah Lemieux writes in an opinion piece for Ebony that she's troubled by the idea that the slain teen's parents should have to take on the "good victim" role. Suggested Reading Suge Knight Claims Tupac’s Mother Made This Shocking Move in His Final Moments Black TikTok Has Theories on Whether Taraji’s Daughter in ‘Straw’ Was…

Jamilah Lemieux writes in an opinion piece for Ebony that she's troubled by the idea that the slain teen's parents should have to take on the "good victim" role.

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
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I became sick to my stomach upon hearing that Sybrina Fulton, mother to murdered Trayvon, had stated this week that she felt that her sonโ€™s shooting death was โ€œan accident.โ€ I understand that Trayvon is her baby, not mine, and that a grieving mother should not only be given the space to mourn and emote as she sees fit โ€ฆ but that her emotions during this time can lead her to say things that the rest of the world canโ€™t quite understand or co-sign. I get that. I also appreciate that Fulton had the opportunity to recant her statement later on HLNโ€™s Nancy Grace, stating that she believes George Zimmerman had an โ€œintentโ€ in mind when he approached her son and โ€œcarried out that intent.โ€

Itโ€™s still worth noting how Martinโ€™s initial suggestion that Zimmerman had shot her son in what was simply a bad encounter that got โ€œout of hand,โ€ speaks to a classic response to racist crimes. Weโ€”-Black folksโ€”-are so quick to forgive, so afraid of being perceived as unreasonable or uncivilized, that we tend to deny ourselves the very human right to be enraged. Weโ€™ve been told so often that angry Negroes are bad that we have come to police our own emotions just as quickly as others have policed them for us.

Read Jamilah Lemieux's entire piece at Ebony.

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