The death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, and the decision of the local police not to question George Zimmerman, the man who killed him, and not to detain him, because of the Florida “Stand Your Ground” law passed by the Florida legislature ni 2005, and signed by Governor Jeb Bush, is all a sign of the “new” lynching mentality that exists in the nation.
With 21 states having passed this law since Florida did so in 2005, it is clear that this is a method to allow “lynching” in a legal fashion, and avoid any accountability for any shooter’s actions.
Lynching went on a for a century in many states, particularly in the South and Border states, and was ignored, leading to very few prosecutions and convictions. The US Government refused to take any action until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowed prosecution on a federal level.
Now there is a legal way to get around the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and there need not be any charges or accusations brought against the victim. Simply if someone is fearful of a black male, does not like the way he walks, dresses or looks you in the eye, is justification for the shooter to “stand his ground”!
It is hard enough to be born black, to grow up in many cases in a poor neighborhood, to have white people look at you as somehow someone not to be trusted, to be denied the opportunities for a good future that so many blacks, male and female, face, and to live daily with the internal fear that your life could end at any time simply because someone does not like the color of your skin.
This is a sad time in America, and requires serious assessment as to how to overcome the laws passed, that allow legalized murder simply based upon suspicion and racism.