Editorial: Trayvon Martin’s tragic death an illustration of racial relations

More than a month after the fact, the nation is still talking about Trayvon Martin. More than a month after the fact, the nation is still talking about Trayvon Martin.

The 17-year-old black Florida student was shot to death by George Zimmerman, a white Hispanic man and neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman, 28, suspected Martin of wrongdoing, chased after him and eventually ended his life. Martin was wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag of Skittles and iced tea when he was killed. He was unarmed.

Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense. He hasn’t been arrested or charged in the shooting.

The law keeping him free parallels a strikingly similar law in Pennsylvania, PublicSource reports. This stand-your-ground legislation allows citizens to use force — and that includes lethal force — while in a place they have a legal right to be against anyone who poses a threat to them. Florida has had the law for seven years; Pennsylvania passed its law in June 2011. In addition, a recent change in Pennsylvania’s self-defense law weakened an average citizen’s duty to retreat from an attacker. Thus, in some cases, violence may be the first response.

There are 21 laws across the nation like this, and both the Florida and Pennsylvania legislations were strongly influenced by the National Rifle Association. Despite the pervasive discourse about Martin’s death, it’s not likely that Pennsylvania will see any kind of quick adjustment to its stand-your-ground laws.

Thus, under certain circumstances, Pennsylvania would allow for the same tragedy to happen. Let’s not forget that the local police have had their transgressions as well. Considering the 1995 killing of 31-year-old black man Jonny Gammage and the 2010 brutal beating of black honors student Jordan Miles, Martin’s unfortunate death is closer to home than it might seem.

Carnegie Mellon’s Black Graduate Student Organization hosted a rally Monday in support of Martin. Students, faculty and community members wore hoodies and carried Skittles and iced tea, just like Martin had been doing when he was shot. More than 500 people attended the rally.

We applaud this large showing of awareness. And if you are as disgusted as we — and the surrounding Pittsburgh community — are, you must consider the root problem. Underneath all the politics and the talk about gun control, our country is still burdened with an even bigger issue: race relations.

Assuredly, Martin won’t be the last young black man to perish because of racial prejudices. But thankfully, people continue to think and talk about this tragedy.

A murder charge won’t change the fact that Martin is dead. And until we get rid of the stereotype that young black men wearing hoodies are all up to no good, we won’t be fully rid of these unnecessary killings.

We urge you to keep talking. Keep getting mad. And keep in mind that it will take a change of mindset on a large scale to eradicate fully these undeserved deaths and the attitudes that cause them.

We anxiously wait to see autopsy reports and other evidence that clarifies this issue on an objective level. Considering that Martin wasn’t armed, it’s unlikely that Zimmerman eventually found himself in a struggle for his life, but it’s possible.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that he pursued Martin. It seems Martin would still be alive if he didn’t fit the stereotype of a young black man.

It’s partly a gun issue. It’s partly a legislation issue. But it’s definitely a racial issue. And it’s not going away anytime soon. Let’s keep talking.