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King writes: "Today, Trayvon Martin should be celebrating his 21st birthday. 'Should' is the operative word."

Trayvon Martin. (photo: AP)
Trayvon Martin. (photo: AP)


Trayvon Martin Should Be Celebrating His 21st Birthday Today - but Like Too Many Others, His Life Was Unjustly Cut Short

By Shaun King, New York Daily News

05 February 16

 

oday, Trayvon Martin should be celebrating his 21st birthday.

Should is the operative word.

Walking home from the convenience store should've been a routine thing.

George Zimmerman, a man who has been arrested over and over and over and over again for violent encounters, should've listened to the police dispatch and remained in his car that evening.

Children should be able to stroll in their neighborhood without being confronted by armed vigilantes.

Florida's Stand Your Ground Law should've protected Trayvon, who was frightened by the armed stranger.

A real part of being black in America, though, is being constantly aware of what should've been but never was.

Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice should've been allowed to play at his neighborhood park without the fear of being shot and killed by police because of a toy gun. Ohio is, after all, an open carry state.

Young black girls in McKinney, Texas, should be able to swim in bathing suits without fear of police yanking them to the ground, mounting them and pointing their gun at boys trying to help.

Teenager Jordan Davis should've been allowed to listen to loud music with his buddies without the fear of being shot by a stranger who was irritated by it.

Sixteen-year-old Gynnya McMillen should've woken up after her first night in jail in January, but black girls and law enforcement don't quite work that way.

First aid should've been immediately administered to Akai Gurley and Eric Garner and Cedrick Chatman and Eric Harris when police unnecessarily used lethal force against them.

A teenage girl at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina should've had a letter sent home to her parents instead of being pulled violently from her desk by a police officer and tossed across the room like a rag doll.

Sandra Bland should've been given a warning or a ticket instead of being assaulted and arrested.

And young Trayvon should have been blowing out birthday candles with his mom and dad.

America should be so much better.

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