The Violent Racists

Racism is an obvious issue that has been around since the very beginning of time. Some people like to see themselves as superior to every other race; others just believe that people are inferior because their beliefs are different. But at what point did it become okay for people to become violent against innocent people due to their color? In the past few years, three black boys of young ages have been brutally killed because they were African American and that appeared as a threat to some white men. How could the color of someone’s skin pose a threat? It’s absolutely disgusting that years after blacks fought for and won equal rights, we still have people on the earth who will quickly take someone else’s life for their skin color.                

A case that many people don’t know about is that of fourteen year old Emmett Till. That name ring a bell? No? Well after this, you won’t forget it. Emmett was in Mississippi visiting family in the year 1955 when he stopped at a corner store to grab some things he needed. As he was leaving, someone reported that he had flirted with a white woman working at the register. This was just reported, no one is actually able to say for sure if he was flirting or if everything was taken out of context. However, two white men kidnapped, brutally beat and killed Emmett. The poor boy was only fourteen, just at the beginning of his teen years. How could someone take the innocent life of a young boy? Reading more into the case, it’s pretty clear that Emmett was killed for his skin color. He was visiting in the south, a very racist area and was killed for something that was just an assumption. Also, his killers were found not guilty because of an all while male jury. What’s even more heart wrenching about the loss of this young boy was the fact his mom left an open casket. This let everyone see the real pain and torture that these white men put onto this young boy. How could someone do something so heartless and disgusting just because of someone’s skin color?

A case that people are more familiar with is the murder of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon was only seventeen years old and was walking alone to his father’s girlfriend’s house, completely UNARMED. He had just stopped at a convenience store for some candy and a drink and was on his way back to the house. However, as he was walking he was shot by a man named George Zimmerman. Zimmerman said that he shot in self defense because Trayvon was wearing a hoodie and appeared to be high. How does someone appear to be high, at night, from a distance? This was a race call on Zimmerman’s part. He believed that Trayvon was a threat to him because of his African American skin color. Trayvon had made no remarks to Zimmerman and had not approached him in any way. If George Zimmerman believed that Martin was a threat because he was walking down the street, he would have shot him in the leg. This would have taken him down while Zimmerman could walk away. However, Zimmerman shot Martin right in the chest and killed him. This is another case of ignorance due to racism. George Zimmerman shot an innocent young boy whose life was still so fresh just because of his skin color. How can you make a call on someone so quickly just because of the color of their skin? How can you point a gun and shoot and kill someone simply because they are black? This society is so messed up.

Another case that shows pure ignorance and racism is the murder case of Jordan Davis. Jordan is a black African American male who was sitting in a parked car with a few of his friends. Nothing threatening was happening inside of the car and no one was looking to harm anyone. The only thing going on in the car was a few friends hanging out and some loud music playing. This loud music and black skin color appeared as a threat to forty-five year old Michael Dunn. He walked up to car and shot Jordan Davis dead. When he was asked why he did it, he said he felt threatened and said that Jordan had pointed a gun at him. However, investigators found absolutely no weapons in Jordan’s car anywhere while they searched. Michael Dunn ignorantly killed an innocent boy because he was African American. How could you walk up to someone car and shoot them simply because you didn't like how loud their music was? Michael had no prior knowledge of who Jordan was and had absolutely no reason to kill him. Dunn did this all out of racist intention. It sickens me that people could be this ignorant.

Overall, to put it in a clean, nice way, today’s society is completely messed up. African Americans fought for their rights for so many years and actually gained them after many years of trial and hardship. They should be able to walk down the sidewalk, talk to a cashier at a store and listen to music in their car without being brutally killed for no reason. All three cases of these boys show that racism is still well and alive today. It has been around and it seems that people will not change their ways and remove it from their life styles. It is a sick and messed up society where people are killed for being black. I believe that something should be really done about this. Someone needs to speak up and out about this issue before more lives are taken. It seems like people are too quick to judge someone because of their skin color. Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were all sadly taken from this world way too early. Why? Simply because they were black. The fact that this actually happens is disgusting and needs to stop.