Trayvon Martin Research Paper

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It’s been 4 years since the killing of Trayvon Martin and the verdict still hasn’t ended the debate about his death. Many supporters believe that his murder was a cowardly act by one George Zimmerman who shot and killed Martin. It was the night of February 26 when Martin went to a nearby 7-eleven to buy himself a snack. Wearing the hood of his grey shirt over his head, he paid the store clerk and left. He was walking back to his father’s house, where he was staying after he had been suspended from school. Zimmerman identified Martin as being sketchy and called the police regarding a very suspicious individual to which the police ordered him not to follow. Zimmerman profiled Martin and then confronted him, no one actually saw the incident but …show more content…

There is no evidence that shows Martin at any point committing any crime to the point that it resulted in such violence. He was innocently walking back home with the hood of his sweater over his head when he was confronted by a white Hispanic who considered Martin to be part of the stereotypes that has been placed on blacks of them being criminals. When reading about the case, it was very hard for me to understand what Zimmerman used to base his accusations of Martin looking suspicious. I mean are all black people with a hoody suspicious? It simply makes no sense, then everyone who is walking on the streets at night with their hoody on is a criminal. What if Martin was a white kid that had gone out to buy himself a snack, just like Martin did, and came out with his hoody on his head, would he also be suspicious? This is one example of a broader racial issue that exists today in the US. Many black people live under the stereotype of being criminals or drug dealers. I’ve heard several people, sadly and unfortunately, refer to them as that. Something that was surprising for me when I first moved to the US. This stereotypes affect black people unconsciously to appoint where it begins to affect