1. Seven years ago today, a jury in Florida found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. A wannabe cop who stalked a 17-year-old minor—despite 911 dispatch telling him not to—because "they always get away with it." I will never forget hearing the verdict.
2. Minutes afterwards, I went to pick up an order at a nearby deli/sushi spot to distract myself. As I was leaving to go back to my car, several senior citizens in Los Angeles, were shouting with glee, "He got off! Not guilty!"
3. It soon became clear to me they had been rooting for Zimmerman. My blood boiled and after contemplating saying something, I instead hurried to me car. I'll never forget thinking "these are my neighbors." In a "liberal" city.
4. The way they hushed their voices when one of them spotted me, ice grilled and jaw locked, in the parking lot. They knew what it was.
And I knew.
And I knew.
5. Racism isn't just the acts of violence or indifference. It's also the fact that the people next to you might quietly cheer for the man who murders children from your community—or loudly cheer it if they think you can't hear.
It is the earned mistrust from terrible misdeeds.
It is the earned mistrust from terrible misdeeds.
6. There are countless moments like these for Black folks living integrated lives. At work. Commuting. Near home. And countless more throughout our nation's history. The moments we realize we might be wiser never to trust. And that choosing to trust is an act of faith or bravery.
7. We will not emerge different from this period in history if we do not begin accounting for these moments of broken faith. And trust is earned through action. It begins by showing up. It will not be slogans. It will not be intentions. It will be behaviors.
8. Because trust is not some superficial thing. Trust is the currency with which we purchase democracy. Devalue the currency, and democracy costs too much.
The Zimmerman verdict broke the social contract for Black folks, and not nearly for the first time.
The Zimmerman verdict broke the social contract for Black folks, and not nearly for the first time.
9. The election of this POTUS also broke the contract and reminded so many of us why mistrust is wisdom. If we want to fix that together, gotta own the past, fix the present, and make trusting our systems reasonable.
Not again.
For the first time.
Not again.
For the first time.
