{"id":1116,"date":"2012-04-04T15:59:16","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T20:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/restorative-justice\/?p=1116"},"modified":"2013-07-16T14:01:49","modified_gmt":"2013-07-16T19:01:49","slug":"where-will-we-find-justice-for-trayvon-martin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/restorative-justice\/2012\/04\/04\/where-will-we-find-justice-for-trayvon-martin\/","title":{"rendered":"Where will we find justice for Trayvon Martin?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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David Anderson Hooker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The following is an invited guest post by my friend, colleague and fellow Morehouse College grad, David Anderson Hooker.<\/em><\/p>\n

Update July 18, 2013: \u00a0An interview with David following the Zimmerman trial can be heard here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I have good news and bad news for the family and supporters of Trayvon Martin: The \u2018justice\u2019 you seek is not in the system from which you seek it! \u00a0If this sounds like a Jedi mind trick, I apologize.\u00a0 I hope though that it will at least cause some to stop and think.<\/p>\n

The bad news first: The \u2018justice\u2019 you seek is not in the system from which you seek it! In the late 1970\u2019s and 80\u2019s Black psychologist Bobby E. Wright coined a phrase – \u201cMentacide: The systematic destruction of a group of people\u2019s minds with the ultimate aim being the complete extirpation of the race.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The prime example Wright offered of the workings of Mentacide was when African American parents would send their children to the public schools with curricula that at best neglected and at worst denigrated their entire heritage. Then the parents would complain about the impact on children\u2019s\u2019 self-esteem.<\/p>\n

Similarly today, the fact that the family and supporters of the family of Trayvon Martin are looking for relief to a justice system that has historically discriminated against African Americans seems na\u00efve and idealistic, if not fully wrongheaded.\u00a0 But I think the greatest disappointment will come from the hope that the judicial system could actually provide justice.<\/p>\n

The reason the so-called justice system is not the answer in this instance and so many others is because the system asks the wrong questions.\u00a0 Judicial justice asks: What law was broken?\u00a0 Who is responsible?\u00a0 What punishment do they deserve?<\/p>\n

Traipsing down this rabbit hole will end up with twisted explanations of how it is ever acceptable to kill an unarmed person, let alone an innocent teenager.\u00a0 It is not clear whether a law was broken \u2013 though I fully concede that George Zimmerman should at the very least have been arrested while someone answered that question.\u00a0 What happens if the answer to that question is that no laws were broken?\u00a0 If that\u2019s the case, then no punishment will be required.\u00a0 And that leaves us all without answers.<\/p>\n

The better questions to ask are the typical questions of restorative justice:\u00a0 What HARM was done?\u00a0 What will it take to put it right?\u00a0 Who has the obligation to make it right?\u00a0 What process would be most effective to involve everyone who has a stake in making it right?\u00a0 This approach doesn\u2019t excuse what by all indications was the senseless killing of a young Black man.\u00a0 Rather what it does is acknowledge that this killing and the official response have created many breaches that need to be repaired.<\/p>\n

The family has experienced a loss; this needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n

George Zimmerman\u2019s life has been irreparably altered – he will both want to make amends and he will need to find ways of healing from the irrational \u2018negrophobia\u2019 that likely initiated this fatal sequence.<\/p>\n

The image and respect for every aspect of the law enforcement community has been downgraded.\u00a0 In order to work most effectively, law enforcement needs to have the MERITED trust of their community.\u00a0 You can’t ask for the community\u2019s cooperation to prosecute wrongdoing when it seems that law enforcement is willing to selectively prosecute.<\/p>\n

The sense of community is damaged.\u00a0 I am not familiar with the racial and class climate in Sanford,\u00a0Florida but I can\u2019t imagine that this in any way improves it.\u00a0 Likely any divisions in the community fueled by racially and ethnically-charged mistrust have hardened.\u00a0 In order for civil society to flourish, trust must be established or restored.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the good news: The \u2018justice\u2019 you seek is not in the system from which you seek it!<\/p>\n

Justice is the establishment of right relationships.\u00a0 In this case, justice would include improving the sense of safety – not insecurity bred by implicit bias,\u00a0but actual safety for people walking the streets; assurance that law enforcement is about justice and not JUST US; and creation of laws that favor people over property and that don\u2019t give privilege or place to actions based in racism \u2013 by shooters, sheriffs, Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys or anyone else.<\/p>\n

While it is essential that we continue to demand accountability for the actors including the shooter, the sheriff and the Assistant State\u2019s Attorneys, the sense of balance and vindication is more likely to take a long time to establish.\u00a0 This will require dialogue and discussion, including the following:<\/p>\n