The Problem with Stereotyping!

Sometimes life amazes me – you know the kind of amazement, when you sit back and wonder what year is it?  Is it really 2012 - almost 50 years since the height of the Civil Rights Movement?  I am having one of those weeks, as many in the US are – after learning of the “death” of Trayvon Martin.  He was a young man, only 17, who happened to be walking home after picking up a bag of skittles and an ice tea.

To be honest, I don’t normally follow “hot topics” in the media but this one touched a special place within me.  Why?  Because I have two young brothers, a nephew, cousins, tons of male friends and this could be any of them.  Each day they live their lives as young, Black males – staying out of trouble, minding their own business in a country where they live stereotyped.  They are immediately seen as “dangerous” – strangers cross the street “afraid” they might be attacked; store clerks monitor them to make sure they aren’t stealing; cab drivers avoid them on late nights; and police officers follow them.  I am still amazed that this stereotype is based on what … skin color. 

I thought Martin, Rosa, Freedom Riders and countless others – marched, refused to give up their seats, rode buses, endure police and dog attacks so that people could be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.  But perhaps, I was mistaken.  Or perhaps, we stepped back in time, on a time machine, one that reminds us – not just “US” as in “US” Black Americans but “US” as in “US” Americans – need to stand up for injustice. 

The other week, I blogged about entropy and how we were again heading towards disorganization.  Trayvon Martin is a reminder that we are in fact heading in that direction … but perhaps, his life; his murder; his death will be a linchpin that once again punctuates the equilibrium and forces us as a nation to take a closer look and begin to once again address racism.

Goldsmith writes in the chapter this week the need to see opportunities where others see liabilities. He talks of people that took a chance on people when others would not. He spoke of blockers, who protect in order for risky change to occur. Michael Skolnik, Editor-in-Chief of GlobalGrind.com, reminds me of a blocker.  He understands the cards he’s been dealt – a white male, who has come to understand the need to use his privilege to speak out against injustice.  In his blog he wrote, “I’ve made the choice today to tell my white friends that the rights I take for granted are only valid if I fight to give those same rights to others”. 

As I read those words, I hear the voice of Mr. Martin as he reminds us that his son – “he wasn’t a statistic he was a person”.  My challenge now is what will I do to replace the stereotype before another young, black male dies?  How can I become a Social Change Agent for my own people??

Just still trying to figure out how:

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= dangerous??