I am still taking in what the Presiding Bishop wrote. I do not find the lack of reference to George Zimmerman by name to be as disturbing as some others here; I felt that the sentence referencing "the sorrow and anger surrounding Trayvon's death" included the rage that has been directed against Mr. Zimmerman.
I grew up in the South, during the Civil Rights era. The South is a complicated place, too often a tragic and terrible place, but also a place of great beauty and, sometimes, surprising kindness and forgiveness. I love the South, but it sure doesn't make it easy to continue to love it. The legacy of ugly, vicious, hateful racial discrimination and prejudice goes on and on.
We don't know the whole story. Mr. Zimmerman should not be judged in the press. No one knows what happened when the confrontation occured between these two people, or what level of responsibility Mr. Zimmerman should bear if he did indeed cause the confrontation to occur. And of course there are other deaths, violent and tragic deaths, that occured elsewhere in this country on that same day and on the days since then. So why is this different?
It strikes a deep nerve, in both the black and the white communities, that can (I think) be traced back to many of the notorious horrors of the past. Yet again a young unarmed black male has been killed. Yet again it appears that the police bungled the follow-up. Yet again it appears that he was pursued and confronted simply because he was a black male wearing a hoodie, so he looked suspicious. Why is a black male wearing a hoodie automatically deemed to look suspicious?
Sometimes some events take on iconic meanings that go far beyond the bare facts. I think Trayvon Martin is, for many, becoming a symbol of the ongoing racial profiling that occurs every day, a profiling that has made the lives of young black males so high risk, regardless of their character or actions. If this becomes the catalyst for a real change in how racial tensions are addressed in this country, that will be a gift from God, in spite of the pain experienced by those most affected by this event.
If, however, this becomes yet another excuse for grandstanding and violent retribution against Mr. Zimmerman and others in the Sanford community, including the police, then this young man's death will truly have been in vain.