Being Trayvon Martin

Orion Donovan-Smith, a UW senior, posed in front of a blank wall, his gray hoodie pulled over his head. His picture was taken at the community forum organized last month by the Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) and the Black Student Union (BSU). The photo was an homage to Trayvon Martin, the black teen who was killed in Sanford, Fla., by a white and Latino neighborhood watchman February 26. But Donovan-Smith said that even while he was taking the photo, which he viewed as a symbol of solidarity, he felt uncomfortable, because he wouldn't have been shot as Martin was. "I was happy to be a part of that but during that I was thinking, 'You know, I'm really not Trayvon Martin.' I wouldn't have been shot in that situation," Donovan-Smith said about his being a white-American. "Regardless of what I was wearing, by virtue of how I look, I would not have been in that same kind of danger." Donovan-Smith said he would never have been shot if it were him that George Zimmerman saw walking down the street in a hoodie. But it wasn't Donovan-Smith - it was Martin who was fatally shot in that gated community. Donovan-Smith said that just because he wouldn't be a target doesn't mean this issue doesn't affect him, and he hopes the forum will create conversations about what it means to be racist in America. The forum The forum, held April 18, was a part of the ECC's social justice series. BSU Vice President Sierra Stewart said the topic was a good fit because the case had both a political and social justice component. "It was important for us to have that forum not only to make people aware of what's going on but to address those issues of racial profiling [and] black men being shot," Stewart said. ECC Director Marisa Herrera said it is important for students to have a safe place, like this forum, to discuss their reactions and emotions to the case. Herrera said she felt that what had made the forum so powerful was the number of worldviews present. "It was important to us to provide a forum, as our [UW] community got galvanized and felt like they wanted to do something in solidarity," Herrera said. "Thinking of that situation in the context of the bigger picture, to be able to not just wear a hoodie sweatshirt but really to, as college students, be a part of the national conversation and think about it within the local context." The case Professor Ralina Joseph incorporated the Trayvon Martin case into the class "Communication and Difference" that she co-teaches with professor LeiLani Nishime. Joseph studied the case through various codes and symbols, and she said in this case in particular there were different symbols of Martin's youth, like the iced tea and skittles he was carrying when he was shot that "painted a stark picture for us." Joseph also said this case brought the message that this could be anyone. "The message that this could be any of us, and that expansion of 'us,' I think that 'us' becomes a youth 'us'; it becomes anybody's child or anybody's classmate or brother," Joseph said. What really impacted Stewart was that she felt Martin was just walking down the street and minding his own business. This case is just one example of how black men are seen as suspicious or as a threat in our society, she said. "We all have our own biases and stuff," Stewart said, "but it just shows how people's negative perceptions of another group of people or anything can manifest themselves and turn into something that's truly tragic." African Student Association president and BSU member Ethiopia Berta said when she heard about the Martin case, she wasn't shocked. She attended the forum and felt it was useful, but she felt like nothing was solved from it and wished there had been some plan of action put into place at the end. Zimmerman had already been arrested when the forum had taken place, so Berta didn't think there was any significant action to take specifically for the Martin case. Instead she wished they had talked about ways to change things in the community - one of her suggestions was a petition to have classes on racism taught at younger ages. She thought the reason people protested this case was because people saw Martin's life as valuable because he was an innocent high-school student. "If he sold drugs or was a pimp, I don't think people would be protesting or having rallies," Berta said. Donovan-Smith said that when he talks to his other white friends and family members, he gets the sense that they see the case as an "aberration," the result of a crazy person, and he disagrees. "It's not just a fact of George Zimmerman being inherently racist, but him living in a society where certain perceptions, particularly [that of] black men as dangerous, are pervasive," Donovan-Smith said. "I would say those of us who are white Americans, we need to be really conscious of that and work actively to counteract those misperceptions and their effects." Donovan-Smith was particularly intrigued by how the defense and the prosecution in the case portrayed Martin. He said that the family had to work very hard to present Martin as a perfect victim, whereas Zimmerman's side seemed to do the opposite. "I think that basically Trayvon Martin's case has been such a big deal because his appeal is pretty wide," Donovan-Smith said. "There is very little ammunition that they can use against his case, essentially against his right to live." The personal impact Stewart said when she first found out about the Martin story, she was heartbroken and felt for Martin's family. "I have two older brothers; I can't even imagine having to get that phone call that you know, that my brother is dead, or one of my cousins. That would rip my heart out," Stewart said. "Another one? Another black man shot," she said she thought to herself, feeling anger. Stewart said there is so much potential lost when a young man like Martin is killed. "Just seeing how much they're at risk in my community," she said. "That's an issue that's very near and dear to my heart." The story also resonated with Herrera, and she thought of her family, her three nephews. "I wonder what their youth is going to look like," Herrera said. Donovan-Smith also found himself thinking about how the case related to him, but in a different context. Donovan-Smith said the reason it was important to him to attend the event was the same reason he works for Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Activist (SARVA) on campus, which deals mainly with women victims. Donovan-Smith said that even though he isn't directly affected, the world around him is. "I feel that people I interact with on a daily basis and some of my best friends and family, everyone, they do have to put up with this kind of thing directly, whether that's racism or sexism or homophobia or anything," Donovan-Smith said. "The fact that I don't directly have to deal with it doesn't exempt me from negative effects of that kind of discrimination or that kind of mistreatment along the lines of race or sexuality or gender or anything else." The "I am Trayvon Martin" slogan is a symbol of solidarity to Stewart. "Even though we didn't all personally go through it, we feel that social justice issue," Stewart said. "I would hope that, human nature, somebody would be like 'I felt that.'" Berta said that when she heard about the case, she wasn't very surprised because it wasn't something new. The case mattered to her though, because it could have been her or her brother who was killed. "If that was me, I would want people to protest as well," she said. The local impact This case is an opportunity to rally for change and raise awareness of racialized violence, Joseph said. She hopes the conversation will shift from the Martin incident to local impact. But in Seattle, Joseph said, people tend to avoid conversations around race, which they consider impolite. People are often worried about offending each other, and honesty ends up taking a back seat in discussions of race. "Those are not the polite conversations that one enters into," she said. "But they're the truth - they're the reality - this gives us the opportunity to have some of the difficult discussions." Donovan-Smith said he hopes this case causes people to change their definition of racism. "It's a matter of people acting on assumptions and attitudes that they carry with them, at least the legacy of racism. Basically, I would just say that we need to have a broader understanding of racism and one that allows us to always question not just if someone else is a racist, but whether we ourselves, any one of us, is acting on negative assumption based along the lines of race," he said. Donovan-Smith pointed to a Department of Justice report that estimated roughly 20 percent of Seattle Police Department (SPD) cases involved a racial bias. To him, the report points to ways the Martin case has a local context. "[These SPD cases] have really given us cause for concern and again, frankly, to be totally honest, this is something that I don't have to see or deal with as a white man living in Seattle," he said. "A lot of these same assumptions on the lines of race are made just as much in Seattle as they're made in central Florida." For Herrera the Martin case is an example of what affects one, affects all. "There's a concept called 'ubumtu,' it's just a collectivist approach, a coming together," Herrera said. Herrera said it is important for people to look at the laws in Washington and see what sort of social injustices are going on. Students can learn about these things in their classes and then apply them to local cases, Herrera said. "I think there are some real fundamental things that are happening in the criminal justice system that are not fair and education gives students an opportunity to do something about those things, to galvanize around it," she said. Continuing the conversation

Donovan-Smith said the continued conversation he believes will come out of the forum and of the event should force people to change how they see and define racism. The most important thing to him are the day-to-day conversations to combat injustices. "It's no longer just about picking out the bad people," he said. "We're not out here looking for Klansmen right? When we're talking about racism, it's something that is a lot more nuanced and, at the same time, a lot more insidious." Stewart said she thinks the Martin case happened for a reason: to open peoples' eyes to these kinds of cases. "His death was used as a wake-up call, as bad as it was," she said. "It was a wake-up call for people to realize that our justice system is corrupt, there's problems with racial issues, we don't live in a colorblind society, all of those kinds of issues." For some people, the case will be an eye-opener, Stewart said. Others, she noted, will think it is just another story and continue on. Organizations like the BSU exist, Stewart said, to take a political stand when they see injustices happening on campus or in the world. "We're so caught up in going from class to class, and you know it's easy to be that way and just be on Facebook," she said. "It's about taking a stance where wrong is wrong." The local conversation about the Trayvon Martin case isn't over. Stewart said there are no concrete plans to have a second forum, but it is something she wants to do. In the future, Stewart hopes these events will gain more traction on campus so that they will have to move into larger spaces than the ECC, like Kane Hall. "It's not a black issue at the end of the day," she said. "It's an everybody issue, so everybody needs to stay informed." Reach reporter Sarah Radmer at features@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @sarahradmer Correction: A correction for this article was printed in the paper May 3, 2012. The article previously stated that George Zimmerman was a "white neighborhood watchman." A correction was made to change the description to "white and Latino."

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