Trayvon Could Be My Son
There is no greater sorrow to be felt than for a parent to bury their child. There are those parents who do so at the end of a long battle fighting a disease and those who learn their child has died in an accident. There is no comfort, no closure. There is only a daily struggle to endure the loss that interrupts the day ever so unexpectedly at the site of a picture, a toy, a small memento of what once was—life, brimming with possibility.
When Trayvon Martin’s death surfaced in the national headlines, there seemed to be a collective cry of disbelief, “Haven’t we seen enough of this? Haven’t we made any progress in race relations?” I found myself thinking about my own son and asking what if? What if he were my child. Every parent should think this because every parent must commit themselves to end gun violence and that starts with sustainable reforms on access to firearms.
The outcry over Trayvon Martin’s murder was not typical because it was not based on a typical situation. He was not dealing dope on the street corner. He was not a drop out. He was not part of a gang. He had no police record. He was a teenager with all the potential of living a strong and productive life. Yet as a black male, he drew the attention of one biased person who assumed he was up to no good. A fight ensued. One gun shot. One life. The acquittal of his murderer was yet another wound.
If we are to dignify the short life of Trayvon Martin or the countless others since then, let’s call attention to gun violence and the grief of so many other families experience in losing their young black and brown sons and daughters. The CDC reports in 2019 that 39,707 people, mostly men (86%), lost their lives to gun violence. Most of these were suicides (60%) but among homicides, black men and boys ages 15 – 34 (just 2% of the population) were among 37% of gun homicides that year. Regardless of the challenges that may surround some communities—racism, joblessness, poverty—it is the availability and opportunity to use guns that changes everything with tragic consequences.
We will never resolve the circumstances surrounding Trayvon Martin’s death or his trial. One thing is clear: Had there been no gun involved in the conflict with his murderer, Trayvon would be alive. We can honor Trayvon and his family with the right debate about access to guns, the pervasiveness of racial profiling and bias. We owe it to him and we owe to his parents to do at least that much.