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Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal

Trayvon Martin – ’Everybody’s child’

Published Apr 19, 2012 11:23 PM

From a March 26 audio column recorded by Prison Radio at prisonradio.org.

A youngster goes out for a snack, simply something to munch on and a sweet drink to wash it down with. A man nearby sees him and suspicion arises. In a matter of moments, the unarmed teenager is dead and the shooter calmly claims self-defense. The cops come, called by people who witnessed the transaction. They chat with the shooter, perhaps exchange information in the way usually done at a traffic accident, put in a call to the court and leave. Imagine the dialogue:

“Hey guys, it’s self-defense.”

“Yeah, looks like self-defense to me. Yeah, looks like a good shoot.”

“Yep, the kid punched me.”

“Hey, no biggie. Self-defense. Good shoot. You have a good night.”

No arrest. No real investigation. Case closed for weeks.

Now, imagine the same events, but with a slight change of place. The shooter is an older, bigger Black man. The teenager is a white rap fan who wears a hoodie. He’s unarmed, and he’s lying face down in the street. How do you think the cops would have responded then?

The fact is, you know how they would have responded. And it wouldn’t have taken weeks. It would have taken minutes.

Who can doubt this? And what does this say about the system? Everything you need to know.

Trayvon Martin is just a name you know now. There are many nameless, faceless Trayvons. And the real tragedy is, there will undoubtedly be more. For the system isn’t broken. It’s rotten.

From imprisonation,
this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.