Trayvon Martin, Overtones

The Call to Action Begins

The murder of Trayvon Martin has brought Florida's "Stand Your Ground" from the shadows, into the light.  Since 2005, when it became law in Florida, the rate of self-defense claims in homicide cases has jumped significantly. As Think Progress Justice puts it, statistics show "that 'justifiable homicides' have shot up in Florida since the self-defense law passed" (Beadle, 22 Mar 2012).

Other similar NRA-fashioned bills (under titles like the "[My Home Is My] Castle" law, "Shoot First," and "Stand Your Ground") have spread, in a highly coordinated march--becoming law in 28 states--across the nation.  It is an incredible feat, really; especially when you consider the snail's pace at which the U.S. Congress gets things done [not].  

In a few short years, by comparison, the Koch Industries-sponsored "American Legislative Exchange Council" (ALEC) has been extremely successful at moving laws that basically facilitate the sale of guns and ammo.  Walmart has been a particular beneficiary of these bills; moving--as they have--in tandem with laws allowing distribution chains like Walmart to sell firearms and ammo to as many people as possible. 

Anyway, ALEC has functioned to bring newly-minted Republican governors and state legislators especially, into the kind of "quiet rooms" where, according to Mitt Romney, the real deals are made. 

Through ALEC, the Koch Brothers host Republican governors, state legislators, and even US Supreme Court Justices, apparently--bringing them into close, out-of-the-way proximity with lobbyists and corporates elites profiting on the manufacture/sale of guns and ammo:

•   The NRA--the public outreach and lobbying arm of gun manufacturers; 
•   The National Association of Firearms Retailers (aka NSSF)--most notably, Walmart; and,
•    Koch Industries, itself.

You might want to ask if your own state legislator has attended an ALEC conference (or more); and if they've sponsored any piece of model legislation they received as a handout there.  Wonder if anything else exchanges hands?

Anyway, the murder of Trayvon Martin brings into painfully sharp relief the injustices Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, and others similarly fashioned, will continue to rain down upon us if we don't act to reverse this particular tide.  Massachusetts is not immune.  

Take Action

Remember, as Walmart goes, so do such laws.  Last year a version of this bill--specifically, Senate Bill 661--began to wend its way, quietly, through the halls of the Massachusetts General Court.  On the Senate side, 661 expands Castle to anywhere one "has a right to be;" on the House side, H 1568 'tweaks' firearms licensing requirements to comport with the provisions of S 661. 

We must act now!  You might have noticed that it's always easier to block something from becoming law than it is to repeal it once it becomes law. (Think Bush tax cuts.)

The Joint Committee on the Judiciary is supposed to convene on the 27th April 2012 to consider these legislative proposals.  Details to TBA in upcoming posts.  

In the meantime, please sign our petition, and if you feel the urgency as we do, circulate it as well.

ACT NOW 

Trayvon Martin, Reflections

Part One:  Backstory

     This post was supposed to lay out action plans related to establishing voter registration drives and other @MattapanAction #Election2012 activities.  It was supposed to have been published a couple of weeks ago now.  


Issues far more urgent have consumed this working group, however; for the past ten days at least: seeking #Justice4Trayvon Martin (may he rest in peace #RIP); and more importantly, perhaps, justice for his parents--Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin.  

     It wasn't only that Trayvon Benjamin Martin--a baby-faced, 17 year old--was shot dead for no apparent reason.  Oh, that's right, "he look[ed] Black...," according to the 911 call George Zimmerman made that night.  

       It's that the Sanford Police handled  the investigation into Trayvon's death, and his body, as if he was the 'perp' rather than a murder victim.  Sandford Police approached their investigation of Trayvon with unusual diligence: they swabbed his hands, looking for gun shot residue; they conducted a background check on him; even drug-tested his body.    Curiously, it seems George Zimmerman didn't have to undergo any of these indignities, even with a 9mm gun in his hand.

     It's also that this initial mistreatment of Trayvon Martin has been, and continues to be, extended to his parents as well.  No time to grieve for their son, really.  Too busy seeking #Justice4Trayvon--at minimum, the arrest of his killer.  Too busy having to defend Trayvon from would-be character assassins who clearly have no shame.

     Of course the urgency of all this has been compounded by one simple fact: George Zimmerman--the 28 year old who first stalked, then chased, and ultimately shot Trayvon Martin, has yet to be arrested for this crime.  Even now--more than a month after the fact, George Michael Zimmerman remains free of all charges; despite probable cause to arrest.  None of this made sense; and the more the State of Florida ignored their pleas for answers, the more Trayvon Martin's parents grew stalwart.

     Initially the Sanford Police Department claimed it was powerless to effect an arrest: Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, they said, gave Trayvon's killer a 'pass.  Initial reports claimed  Zimmerman felt threatened; and on this basis, had a right to defend himself under the law.  


Yet we know--from the 911 call George Zimmerman made to the Sanford Police--that he (mis)characterized Trayvon Martin as "a real suspicious guy" for nothing more than "just walking around, and looking about...;" that Zimmerman can be heard chasing Trayvon; and that the dispatcher told him, "we don't need you to do that."  What part of "no" didn't Zimmerman understand?


We also know that Trayvon wasn't the only person George Zimmerman terrorized that night. Several 911 calls to the Sanford Police that night attests to the anguish Zimmerman's actions brought to everyone within earshot.  See the trauma this event brought to a 13 year old nearby.


     We know Trayvon Martin cannot 'speak' from the grave.  So we must rise, to speak in his stead.  

Timeline

     

     

     

Presidential Primaries, Local Elections

Next Tuesday the Boston Elections Commission will once again oversee the conduct of the Presidential primary elections.  Of course Boston's Election Department does the actual work of managing 254 polling locations throughout the City on election day.


This means the Election Department hires people to work on a per diem basis.  Even at this late date it might not be too late to get hired as a poll worker, especially if you are bi-lingual.  The application can be submitted electronically as well.


If you get hired as an Elections Officer in time for Tuesday's Presidential primaries (not very 'presidential,' actually), other than the early call (6 AM), it's likely to be easy day-work.  


Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, is considered the inevitable winner of the Republican primary; and Barack Obama, current President of the United States, is running unopposed for the Democrats.  So turnout will be low.  


Certainly this comes as no surprise, however.  Mattapan voters must be used to an 'air of inevitability' hoovering over local elections by now.  Most of our local elections afford an opportunity to cast a vote; but more often than not, candidates running for office in Mattapan are running unopposed.


There's so little real choice that's it's no wonder so few register to vote, and so many registered voters don't bother showing up at the polls.  


This suggests a call to action--something for our working group to consider going forward.  


If we want people to get involved--to register to vote, and vote on election day, then our elections should offer them viable options from which to choose.  

Key Organizing Principles

Think  GLOBALly

Act            Locally.

Action    

is (far) better than 

inaction.  

Why We Sing, Why We Cry

Mattapan. The neighborhood conjures up mixed feelings.... It is an absolutely beautiful place to live (quiet, even). There are great places to explore the outdoors (if you don't mind getting your shoes dirty); and public parks provide opportunities for outdoor recreation.  Yet Mattapan has the highest obesity rate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Why?


Although FLOTUS' Let's Move initiative is building steam, a Mattapan-based food and fitness coalition has sponsored an annual event for the past several years called "Mattapan Moving for Life."  It's not exactly creating a groundswell among Mattapan's 25,000 residents, however, especially given two key factors:

1. 26% of Mattapan residents are between 5 and 18 years old;  
2. living in 2800 Mattapan households.

In other words, this annual "family-friendly" event doesn't reach the vast majority of Mattapan households with children. Why not?


The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) treats Mattapan like it's a "food desert."  But is it?  The USDA obviously doesn't consider it so.  Mattapan is not color-coded pink on its "Food Desert Locator."  Still the W. K. Kellogg Foundation has funneled money through BPHC into Mattapan for years now; ostensibly to redress the lack of access to healthy foods there.  While a cornerstore initiative--called "Healthy on the Block"--has gained some traction, its too new to point to measurable outcomes; and too fragile because its funding raises questions about its sustainability.  


Mattapan is a relatively stable community: where forty-two percent (42%) of its housing stock are single-family homes; where thirty-four percent (34%) of households are owner-occupied.  Even though 54% of households are apartment dwellers, people 'check in,' but are slow to 'check out.'  


True to it's name, perhaps Mattapan is "a good place to be."  Contrary to this particular Native American translation (citation pending), a more sinister one posits that "Mattapan" means "evil is spread about the place" (Saugus Public Schools). Any wonder, then, that some refer to Mattapan pejoratively as "murder pan?" 


At the time of this writing, a trial is underway for a 2010 quadruple murder on Sutton Street: a drug robbery already wrong; horrified all of greater Boston when it resulted in the death of a babe in the arms of its mother. Sadly, crime will always haunt the 'hood' so long as those who would bear witness against such acts are characterized as "rat," "snitch," etc.  Cowering in fear is not freedom.  Silence is, in fact, a form of social death. 


So Mattapan has become a harbor, of sorts-- where Boston's criminal mischief often comes ashore.  Though it's painful to admit it, criminals do roam freely here; and with the Commonwealth's blessings.  


Several years ago, a "prisoner reentry center" was established right in the heart of Mattapan Square--the neighborhood's primary commercial center; over, and against the expressed wishes of community residents, in fact. 

Instead of representing the will of the community, with the lone exception of then State Rep. Shirley Owens-Hicks, most public officials took to the task of bringing the community along (for the ride). This was not the first, nor would it be, the last time.

Mattapan.  As if in the movies, a river runs right through it.  This river, named Neponset, is now thoroughly polluted; after a very long period of paper mills dotting its shores, dumping chemical contaminants into it, the Neponset River can no longer sustain life.  


All to say, the need for urgent action is great.  The Neponset River rushes on; a metaphor for the experience of living, working, and playing in Mattapan today.  Like the river, Mattapan can be a lure, but it can make you sick if you 'drink the water.'

Future posts will draw out, and on, this metaphor; as we look for action steps to advance Mattapan.