TRAYVON MARTIN, BLACK YOUTH, AND CRIME

            In the minds of most African Americans, the central issue in the case against George Zimmerman for shooting Trayvon Martin was not the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, they wanted Zimmerman convicted for racial profiling.  It is clear that Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin walking through the gated community and followed him because Martin was Black. There had been several break-ins in the community and Zimmerman thought that Martin looked suspicious.

            Over the decades Black people have suffered from the fact that Whites look upon them as potential criminals and feel endangered when they see young Blacks in an all-white community. Zimmerman called the police to report the presence of Trayvon Martin even though Martin was not exhibiting any criminal behavior. He was simply walking through a gated community going back to his father’s apartment. Zimmerman presumed that Martin was “up to no good” and that the police should come and arrest or at least follow him. We cannot know whether Martin had any intentions other than to return home. If he was looking for a condominium to break into, we will never know it.

It is not hard to understand why African Americans are enraged by such behavior on the part of a local security guard. They wanted Zimmerman convicted of murder no matter what the facts of the case showed.

On the other hand, it is not totally unreasonable to understand what was going on in the mind of George Zimmerman. The presence of a black youth wearing a hooded sweatshirt (a “hoodie”) in the community Zimmerman was supposed to be protecting might reasonably give rise to some fears and assumptions. The reason for this is that the rate of crime by Black youth in America is all out of proportion with their numbers. A report by the U.S. Department of Justice for the year 2009 gave the following figures:

“Juvenile arrests disproportionately involved minorities. The racial composition of the U.S. juvenile population ages 10–17 in 2009 was 77% white, 16% black, 5% Asian/Pacific Island­er, and 1% American Indian. Most juveniles of Hispanic ethnicity were included in the white racial category. Of all juvenile arrests for violent crimes in 2009, 47% involved white youth, 51% involved black youth, 1% involved Asian youth, and 1% involved American Indian youth. For property crime arrests, the proportions were 64% white youth, 33% black youth, 2% Asian youth, and 1% American Indian youth. Black youth were overrepresented in juvenile arrests.

Black proportion--Most serious of juvenile arrests offense in 2009

Murder 58%

Forcible rape 33

Robbery 67

Aggravated assault 42

Simple assault 39

Burglary 37

Larceny-theft 32

Motor vehicle theft 43

Weapons 37 ”

             Thus, according to Justice Department statistics, crimes by Black youths were extremely disproportionate to their numbers. It is no wonder that White people, especially White law enforcement authorities, tend to profile Black youths as potential criminals. No matter how unfair it may be, it is based on a reasonable recognition of the dangers represented by Black youth.

            What is the answer? Black commentators say that the result of the George Zimmerman verdict will be that White law-enforcement authorities will go on profiling Black youths and shooting them down regardless of whether they are committing crimes or not. That may be partially true. But the answer is not to convict people like Zimmerman of murder. The answer lies in the statistics shown above. Unless those statistics change, unless there is great leadership on the part of Black leaders, and unless there is a vast change in the rate of crime by Black youths, White people and White law enforcement authorities will continue to look-upon most Black youths as potential law-breakers.