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Trayvon Martin

  • Trayvon Martin and Edward Snowden

    by Vicente L. Rafael

    Could we say that within the particular imperial and racial nexus we find ourselves in, that Snowden, despite his obvious differences from Trayvon, might also share his fate?



  • Beyonce compares Trayvon Martin to Emmett Till

    Beyonce has urged supporters of Trayvon Martin to be inspired by the protests that followed the death of another black teenager, Emmett Till. She is only one of a number of Americans who have drawn a parallel between the two cases - though others point out there are major differences. So who was Till?After attending an event in New York in memory of teenager Martin, who was shot dead in Florida, the pop singer wrote a message on her website."We have made so much progress and cannot allow hatred and racism to divide us," she wrote. "When we all join together, people of all races, we have the power to change the world we live in. We must fight for Trayvon the same way the generation before us fought for Emmett Till."In the summer of 1955, the 14-year-old Till was far from home when his life ended in a most violent way, apparently for whistling at a white woman....



  • Peniel E. Joseph: Trayvon, Race and American Democracy

    Peniel E. Joseph is founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and a professor of history at Tufts University. He is also the Caperton Fellow for the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University. He is the author of Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama. His biography of Stokely Carmichael will be published next year by Basic Books. He can be reached online at penielejoseph.com. Follow him on Twitter.



  • Professor Anthea Butler calls God a 'white racist' in blog about Zimmerman trial

    The not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman case has me thinking a lot about a book I first encountered in seminary, Is God a White Racist?, by the Rev. Dr. Bill Jones. As a budding seminary student, it took me by surprise. Now, as a wiser, older professor looking at the needless death of Trayvon Martin, I have to say: I get it.God ain’t good all of the time. In fact, sometimes, God is not for us. As a black woman in a nation that has taken too many pains to remind me that I am not a white man, and am not capable of taking care of my reproductive rights, or my voting rights, I know that this American god ain’t my god. As a matter of fact, I think he’s a white racist god with a problem. More importantly, he is carrying a gun and stalking young black men.

  • Women Played Critical Role in George Zimmerman Decision

    by Brenda E. Stevenson

    It has only been in the last fifty years or so that women have gained such significant presence as lawyers, prosecutors, and jurists. It will become increasingly important, therefore, that we understand the kinds of histories and socializations of females in our society that they bring into the courtroom, that weighs in when they consider the evidence, victims and defendants before them.