In a sudden and unscheduled meeting, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed the reasons behind the anger in African Americans over George Zimmerman's 'Not Guilty' verdict in the death of teenager Trayvon Martin. Though he seemed deeply moved by the case, the first African American president in the U.S. hinted that federal charges might be unlikely for the case.
"There are very few African-American men in this country who have not had the experience of being followed when they are shopping at a department store. That includes me," Obama articulated. "There are probably very few African-American men who have not had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me—at least before I was a senator."
The president continued to state other reasons for the African-American angst: "There are very few African-Americans who have not had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had the chance to get off. That happens often."
The 44th president of the United States spoke without a teleprompter, "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago."
The shooting that happened in February 26, 2012 killed Trayvon Martin by the hands of George Zimmerman. By claiming self-defense, George Zimmerman was acquitted based on Florida's stand-your-ground laws. The social prejudice that brought upon Martin's death raised riots across the country for a re-trial.
As the Attorney General Eric holder is continuing to look into the case for a possible appeal, the president however lowered many's expectation of him pressing federal charges, saying, "Once the jury's spoken, that's how our system works."
Questioning, Obama called for the abolishment of "stand your ground" laws: "If we're sending a message as a society in our communities that someone who is armed and potentially has the right to use those firearms, even if there's a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we'd like to see?"
Obama continued claiming that the law's supporters should consider if Trayvon Martin should also have the right to fight back with a gun. Obama then remarked on the disproportionate amount of African American boys and young men that end up in prison or as victims of homicide.
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