Obama Speaks Out in
Response to Zimmerman Verdict
Well it has finally happened. The day we all have been
waiting for. The Duchess of Cambridge went into labor and the next heir to the
throne will be born. Oh wait a second, we are in America not England. This
story does not affect us at all. You would not be able to deduce that from the
amount of coverage the story is receiving on the news channels. Well since the
cable news stations won’t be covering the outcome of the Zimmerman trial today,
it gives us time to look back at some developments that happened over the
weekend.
The big story happened this past Friday, July 19, 2013.
President Obama hijacked a regularly scheduled press briefing and used the time
to give his thoughts on the Zimmerman verdict and race relations in this
country. His appearance shocked everyone, even the reporters, who could be heard
saying, “Whoa,” when he entered the briefing room. It was an impromptu meeting
that allowed Obama to say his thoughts without making such a big deal (as opposed
to preempting primetime programming for a special press conference). President Obama said several things during his talk with the
press that I want to touch on and I think are relevant. The first major thing
that really struck those reporting on this address was Obama stating, “Trayvon Martin
could have been me 35 years ago.” This statement, I feel, was the most
compelling because it really put everything in perspective. We see Obama as an
accomplished man. He is well educated, became a U.S. Senator and then went on
to achieve the highest office in the country some say the world. We never stop
to think about what he was like as a teenager growing up. He probably was a lot
like Trayvon. In fact I think a lot of teenage boys no matter what their skin
color were a lot like Trayvon. Thinking back on my own teenage experience, I definitely
went through phases. I dressed a certain way because that was how my friends
dressed and I wanted to fit in. Really examining how I was when I was teenager,
I realize that people who knew me then who don’t know me now would never
recognize me. I feel like that is the same message that Obama was trying to
articulate when he compared himself to Trayvon. A lot has been made about
Trayvon’s attire that night, wearing a hoodie, so he looked “dangerous.” You
cannot deduce how a person will turn out in life by the way they dress as a
teenager. I think the comparison Obama made did a good job giving the public a
concrete example of how you never can know who a person is or what they will
become by just looking at their clothes.
Another important thing, Obama did was reference his own
struggles growing up as an African American man. An article in The Washington Post after the press
conference talked about Obama’s upbringing and also made note that Obama rarely
talked specifically about race relations during his presidency. I understand that.
Even though Obama made history by becoming the first African American president,
he wants to be known for other things than just his skin color. He wants to
enact other changes in the country besides just race relations. However, with a
high profile story like this one, not saying anything about it would be like
ignoring the elephant in the room. The way he addressed the topic was well
thought out. He did not condemn anyone in the trial. He praised how
professional and by the book it proceeded. He also brought personal experiences
of growing up as a minority illustrating that even he was not raised above the
stereotypes and biases that exist in the country. He also offered the African
American perspective on certain racial issues, saying that the community is not
naïve to the statistics about the African American race and violence but those
numbers should not be the defining criteria for the entire community.
Finally, Obama laid out some of the things he would like to
address in the aftermath of this trial. He remarked that law enforcement is
controlled at the state and local levels of government, but he would like to
work in conjunction with state governors to develop training programs to stop
the racial profiling done by law enforcement. He also brought up the “Stand
Your Ground” law and tried to appeal to America that a law that has that much
ambiguous interpretation (he made a case that if Trayvon was of age and armed,
under the law he could have stood his ground) needs to perhaps be revisited. He
also called for all Americans to do a little introspection and examine what
prejudices and biases they hold and try to overcome them.
Once again, I think Obama did a good job covering these different
topic areas. It did not come across that he was politicizing the Zimmerman
trial. He also seemed well aware of his power being that he runs the federal
government and cannot make states change their laws or law enforcement
policies. Also I think Obama coming out and talking to America about this issue
was a sign to those participating in vigils and protests that he heard their
pleas, is aware of the situation, and will do what is in his power to help
enact change so Trayvon did not die in vain.
What happened on Friday was an unexpected occurrence that I
think a lot of Americans needed to hear. I will be back Wednesday with another
post. Hopefully the topic of conversation on the news will go back to American
issues (or at least World issues that carry a little more importance) so I will
have something fresh to talk about. Till then…
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