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My first stop in America was a little town called Brenham, TX in 1979.
It is home of the Texas famous Blue Bell Ice Cream and Blinn Junior College. My ticket to study engineering in America was based on a music scholarship, but that’s another subject.
I was a wet behind-the-ears black kid that spoke with an accent in a country town. The black American kids were suspicious of me, the white American kids were curious, and the Hispanic American kids giggled when I spoke to them in Spanish. I hung out with Peruvian, Argentinian, Guatemalan, and Venezuelan friends most of that year. We were all strangers in a new land away from our parents for the first time who shared one thing in common — we could all communicate in Spanish and when strange things happened we could enter our cocoon. It is amazing how quickly and quietly human beings adapt.
We were walking down one of the few commercial streets in Brenham when some guys in a pickup truck just started shouting nigger and, if I remember correctly, something about being in the wrong part of town. It was directed solely at me because, while we were all Latinos walking down that street, I was the only black one.
I remember going to Padre Island for spring break, six of us packed like sardines in my car. I remember getting to the beach house and the coldness with which I was treated on the island, compared to my geographic brothers and sisters from South and Central America. Funny thing is they never had a clue.
I always knew Blinn was a stepping stone to move up, and I moved up to The University of Texas at Austin (UT) after a year at Blinn. I had no problem getting in on my own merit, but most of my friends assumed I got in thanks to some quota (they did not realize as a foreigner I did not qualify). Both students and professors in many instances went out of their way to remind me that I was an “other.” I rallied the campus for UT’s divestiture from South Africa given their overtly brutal apartheid system. I understood that fighting injustices somewhere else helped to hold up a mirror to the injustices we faced locally.
I remember being stopped many times by the police. It’s not that I was a bad driver. Most of the stops seemed to have only to do with a desire to question me. It was never confrontational. I did as I was told. You see, where I am from, Panama, a dispute with an officer guarantees a cracked skull with no legal recourse, so the cops in Austin likely thought I was a model citizen. From a young age, I always knew when and where to engage. I adapted.
When I graduated from UT and went to work, I encountered the same preconceived notions. But work isn’t the cops. I was vocal and never took any crap. Suffice it to say I had 5 jobs in 5 years and finally formed my own company. When my company became fairly successful I moved to Kingwood, a nice suburb with a lot of trees and a very good school system for my daughter.
My first memorable experience in Kingwood was walking in the trails and passing a white woman who immediately held her purse tightly and looked at me with horror. I looked at her and simply shook my head, seething. Another time I went cycling with one of my new friends and stopped into a convenience store. When we left the store my friend simply said, “I get it now.” I guess I was his first black friend. Inside that store, he saw how differently a person with my skin color is treated.
It is 2013. I’ve been living in the US for 34 years. The fact that we still mourn our Trayvon Martins means there is a lot more work for us to do. Preconceived notions and irrational hatred still pollute human interactions. Sometimes, these weaknesses are codified into law. Black boys and men are stereotyped. Incarceration rates and crime rates are pointed to as justification for unequal treatment, and fodder for false narratives. These numbers do not take into account the fact that young men in my neighborhood, a predominantly white neighborhood, do not go to jail for infractions they confess to, while young men in other neighborhoods are arrested indiscriminately. It does not reflect that sentences on minorities are harsher and as such their chances of being granted parole and rehabilitation are smaller.
There are many Trayvon Martins out there. Many. It is sad that we have lost this beautiful young man. It is sad, also, that similar incidents occur frequently with very little news coverage. Trayvon’s case seems to resonate, perhaps because he was 17, good looking, and did not have a record. Every mother irrespective of color could envision him as their son. Every father as well. And that touches our hearts. We sense the pain that Trayvon’s real parents must feel. In the America we envision — an America where there is no “other” — such compassion for our fellow human beings is commonplace, and no one’s son deserves to die this way.
Many are emphasizing the fact that Mr. Zimmerman looks Hispanic. I’m not sure why. Does this irrelevant detail somehow exonerate him from suspicion of a hate crime? Do they think that by presenting a narrative of “minority-on-minority crime,” they can diminish the meaning of this event? Do they hope that the news networks will lose interest if they are reminded that typically they have ignored minority-on-minority crime? What is important to note is that within the Hispanic community there are many races. The racism we know in this country is found in every country in Latin America. Many of my South and Central American friends could pass for white just as Mr. Zimmerman can. They still struggled to assimilate. Ultimately they did.
Many Americans want to see the Trayvon Martin case as a potential learning experience. I do not think this is likely because we are so resistant to the only real solution, which involves everyone getting out of our comfort zones. The trial is probative. The attempt to make dead Trayvon Martin a stereotypical dangerous violent black thug is in full vogue. Some attempt to assume the only reason Trayvon would have been shot is that ‘he’ caused Zimmerman to do it. Many willfully attempt to make this plausible even though Zimmerman followed Trayvon as if he was a criminal or a prey.
Citizens must speak up against the “no-gun-control-bullies” that use intimidation tactics and loads of money to insist upon lawlessness when it comes to deadly weapons. If we are to resolve real racial problems we each must take it upon ourselves to lead by example — speak with honesty, and allow others to feel free to speak with honestly about what is in their hearts and minds without holding it against them. Only when our feelings about one another are revealed can we address, adjust, correct, or corroborate them. Only when we’ve begun and maintained an open conversation about race and racism can we see past our preconceived notions and truly hear and see one another.
Racism is not a problem with preassigned blame. Racism is simply a problem, and it belongs to all of us.
Minorities do not have a monopoly on victimhood. The white majority does not have a monopoly on responsibility, or guilt, or anger toward those who would have them feel guilty. The slate must be wiped clean. We must carry no grudges, and begin by asking ourselves and one another, “Is this the way we want to go on living? Divided? Lacking trust? Lacking civility? Lacking patriotism (not only love of America, but also love of Americans)? Some of us resist asking such questions with openness because we fear we might end up losing something we think we now possess. But whatever it is we have now with the status quo, is it so wonderful that we wouldn’t risk it for a higher level of understanding, and, a more fair, inclusive, and united country?
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Most people are tired of hearing about and discussing race. It has nothing to do with a “comfort zone,” it’s just people have had enough. I know I have. The majority of us treat each other as individuals and don’t let race, gender, creed, etc… even come into play, which is as it should be. To keep insisting there needs to be a nationwide (or worldwide) discussion because some want to have it is not good enough. If some want to discuss it, fine. Just don’t expect those who don’t to play along with whatever you might conclude.
I don’t believe Zimmerman is racist, nor should this trial be about race. So far, it seems both attorney’s have done all they can to leave race out of the equation. Hopefully the jury will not be influenced by race, but rather look at the evidence and render their verdict accordingly.
Your statement about the incident not having anything to do with race is exactly the reason we need a discussion. The fact that you are oblivious to how race played a role in the events leading up to Trayvon’s assassination and subsequently the killer simply taken at his word absent all predominant evidence is probative.
Jessie — your comment belies a life that has gone unexamined. I’ve done you a favor and included a link to some excellent reading material, to help frame just how out of touch your comment is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege
Jessie, as you can see the racists here want to make you feel like you are racist, when you aren’t. You and I both try to live by the creed espoused by MLK – to judge a person not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. The fact that those responding to you only see through the prism of race is their attempt at excusing the bad behavior of those who are the same race as them. For example, the neighborhood that Zimmerman lived in had many burglaries by young black males late at night. But Egberto refuses to assign blame to such criminals, and put such blame on Zimmerman who was defending himself.
“Some attempt to assume the only reason Trayvon would have been shot is that ‘he’ caused Zimmerman to do it.”
That statement is pivotal. It also sounds like what they do to rape victims. In essence, if you are not a white male your body is violated, it must be your fault.
Everybody’s experience is different. I’m a white woman raised in the Army until high school, now living in the South. While I grew up in a very integrated environment, now I see racism and evidence of past racism lingering everywhere. We had black employees matter-of-factly suggest to us that our sales might go up if we hired more white staff. I’ve always been sympathetic to issues facing minorities, but to think about our employee accepting that people viewed her as “less than” b/c of her skin color has bugged the crap out of me ever since. Her comment did not come out of a vacuum, but from a lifetime of experience. Racism is indeed all over the world, in many places worse than here, but it is all shameful and something to actively shed nonetheless. As I Christian, I think there’s a reason God introduced us to Jesus b/c he wanted us to take steps forward and evolve as a human race. I think we are called to do that everyday and every year of our lives here.