Maintaining the Mechanisms of Colorblind Racism in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

The events of February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida will be remembered by man for years to come. That night, George Zimmerman, a 26-year-old half-Peruvian, phenotypically white man was on neighborhood watch and spotted Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black teenage boy who was staying in the area at the time and walking back to the house of his father’s girlfriend. The following events took place over the span of approximately 8 minutes. First, Zimmerman called 911 to report the suspicious activity. On the recording, we heard the 911 operator tell Zimmerman not to take action against the individual, but Zimmerman did anyway. Unidentified yelling follows. After that, the details of what transpired differ. Zimmerman claimed that he responded in self-defense. Witnesses claimed that they saw a fight between the two individuals, but it is unclear how or why it started. What is known is that an altercation between the two men ensued, and ended in Martin’s murder. The State of Florida charged Zimmerman with the murder, and the case went to trial on April 11, 2012. Zimmerman’s supporters pointed to the ‘‘stand your ground’’ policy, a law in Florida that permits anyone who perceives great bodily harm or death to use deadly force in order to protect themselves. However, even though Zimmerman’s lawyers did not use the ‘‘stand your ground’’ policy in their defense, their counterarguments led the jury to rule against the prosecution. On July 13, 2013, Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Martin’s murder. Regardless of the nuances of legal policies and judicial debates, it is likely that this crime was motivated by racial attitudes and racist assumptions. As Rachel