Last summer in Jacksonville, Fla., Jordan Davis and his friends were shot at by Michael Dunn. Dunn was annoyed about the loud “thug” music they were playing in their car and got into an altercation with the boys, leading up to the shootings.
Unfortunately, Jordan Davis was killed by the shots fired. Michael Dunn was found guilty Saturday, Feb. 15, on two counts of attempted murder of Davis’ friends, but was acquitted in murdering Jordan Davis.
Michael Dunn felt that he had the right to shoot at Davis and his friends because he felt they posed a threat to his safety; Florida’s Stand Your Ground law backs Dunn’s claim of self- defense. Under this law the people of Florida can refuse to retreat if they feel as if harm is to be inflicted upon them.
This policy, however, seems to only support the white citizens of Florida. This was evident earlier in 2013 when Marissa Alexander, a black woman, received 20 years in prison for shooting at, but not harming, her husband in an attempt to end his physical abuse towards her. Alexander also used the Stand Your Ground law in her case but got no justice from the jurors.
Both George Zimmerman and Dunn took a life when trying to defend themselves in the state of Florida, while in the same state, Alexander received 20 years for killing no one. It’s clear that one group is getting the upper hand in courtrooms. Race is definitely a large factor in the killing of Jordan Davis.
However, instead of looking at the individual racism Davis suffered from, it may be more beneficial to examine the institutional racism toward young men of color in America. Few places is this more prevalent than in the American justice system.
The Stand Your Ground law makes it easier for white people to imprison or kill young men of color; it doesn’t seem to work in reverse. This is evident beyond the high profile Jordan Davis or Trayvon Martin cases, and even beyond the unjust system of the state of Florida.
This injustice is evident in the case of the shooting and killing of the unarmed Jonathan Ferrell by North Carolina police officer Randall Kerrick. Kerrick found Ferrell suspicious after a call he received about a nearby house robbery even though Ferrell was merely wandering, seeking help for his car. Kerrick was not indicted.
Another evidence of institutional racism is the case of the aggressive frisking of Derrin Manning. While walking with friends, he was stopped and frisked, even though the stop-and-frisk policy was deemed unconstitutional due to the disproportionate frisking of blacks and Latinos, which violates the 14th Amendment of equal protection.
Although the police officer ruptured the testicles of Darrin Manning, Manning was still taken to prison for resisting arrest and reckless endangerment. Our justice system is biased against people of color. African Americans and Latinos make up 29 percent of America’s population combined.
Yet the amount of African American and Latino prisoners continues to increase beyond 60 percent, showing a direct disproportionality in the American Justice system toward people of color. Ignoring the racist society that exists today only makes us more racist. I am tired of hearing stories of young men of color dying in unjust ways.
How many more bodies do we have to lay to rest before America gets tired too?