Today I would like to share my thoughts on the protests that took place yesterday in Harlem and Union Square in New York City. Although there were many, these were the two I chose to participate in. I did this for two reasons, 1) to be in the presence of like minds who shared the pain and outrage I felt regarding the not-guilty verdict of George Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin and 2) to get any information that may come out of these events around collective action moving forward to exact justice for Trayvon Martin, whose name has been added to a long list of young black men who lost their life too soon due to an over-zealous cop or wanna-be vigilante. What I saw yesterday both frightened, angered and disappointed me all at once.
First stop, Harlem! I was part of a very small crowd, gathered on the corner of 125th Street, structured so that everyone who wanted to speak had a fair chance with the bullhorn. There was talk of racial profiling, stop and frisk, racism, discrimination, and the consistent murder of our young black men. Union Square provided the same platform; however, the crowd was much larger, and the structure was a bit different. The “human mic,” indicative of the “Occupy” way of community protests and activism, was in full effect, allowing those in the rear to hear and know who was speaking and more importantly what was being said. The same language was being touted from the platform hailing discrimination, racism and economic divestment from Florida.
I got all that, but for me, it was more personal. I have a son, 16 years old, and I am scared to deaththat he will be among the large percentage of black youth who are singled out because he has on the wrong outfit, is in the wrong area, or he “looks suspicious.” These reasons have been given time and again as to why black men have been stopped, frisked and often arrested. I dread the day I get a phone call and my son has been detained because “someone got it wrong!” I also fear that the anger and resentment that has sparked these protests and calls for action will become background conversation and Facebook posts with the “SMH” caption. I want action. Collective action. I want economic divestment and sanctions in Florida and ALL other states that support laws that are vague and leave too much room for confusion. I want this unequal-ness to end. I’m tired! But I know that, sadly, we must continue to fight for our civil rights so that one day we actually will be “judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.”
Pamela Phillips works at the Barnard Center for Research on Women, volunteers as Vice President of the North Bronx Council of Presidents’ Executive Board, New York City Housing Authority’s Resident Association and the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club in the Bronx. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from CUNY-Lehman College and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management at The New School of Public Engagement.
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