On February 26, 2012 Trayvon Martin was murdered. He wasn’t accidentally killed, he wasn’t shot in self defense- Trayvon Martin was gunned down because he was a young black male. A young black male taking a walk, talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone, carrying Skittles in his pocket. {To read about the details of the case, I recommend this blog. To read a really good commentary for Christians in response to this tragedy, read John Piper’s response.}
This is NOT okay. The whole story makes my heart hurt for his family, for his friends, for his life that was cut short by needless violence. Unbelievably, the man who killed Trayvon has not been charged with any crime, although after enormous public pressure, the prosecuting attorney in the county in Florida where the crime occurred has announced that a grand jury will convene in April to review the case.
How do you talk about this with your teens? How do those of us raising black children help them feel safe? How do you make sense of an absolutely senseless tragedy?
In our home we have used this sad turn of events to evaluate our response to people of other races and skin tones {cause y’all realize that is all that makes us different, right? skin tone!} We have talked about the challenges that minorities face in this country and what we can do to change stereotypes and increase tolerance. We have talked about what Trayvon’s family must be going through and tried to put ourselves in their shoes. We have talked about forgiveness, the danger of assumption, the inherent inequality of race relations in our country even though it is 2012. What would Jesus think, say, do in response to situations like this, those are the things we have been talking about.
One thing I haven’t talked much with my kids about is fear. I am afraid. And, I am a tad ashamed to admit that I am relieved I have a black daughter and not a black son.
Have you talked about this case with your teens?
