Jesse Jackson said he hoped that the Trayvon Martin slaying was another transformative moment in US history. The Chicago activist also told reporters that “blacks are under attack” in America.
The LA Times reported:
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said Friday that he’s grateful the rest of the country has sat up and taken notice of the tragic slaying of Trayvon Martin. But he can’t help but wonder: Why has it taken so long for everyone else to recognize the chronic injustices that African Americans face?
“We’re surprised that everyone else is surprised,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. African Americans have tried for decades to get the rest of America to understand their plight, he said, particularly their beliefs that justice is still elusive in many parts of America, especially the Deep South.
Then along comes the Trayvon Martin case, and facts that are not in contention: Volunteer neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman pursued and then gunned down the unarmed 17-year-old last month, and never faced arrest because police said there was no evidence to contradict his claim that he fired in self-defense.
“I hope that this will be a transformative moment,” Jackson said.
Jackson was speaking Friday morning from the Chicago offices of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Meanwhile, across town from where the Martin slaying took place, the trial started for Shawn Tyson, a black youth who is accused of murdering two British tourists in Miami. Tyson made the two tourists strip off their shirts then shot them dead… Don’t expect any major headines on this story. It doesn’t fit the media narrative.