Trayvon, Tragedy, and Traumas of the Everyday: A Community Conversation
Trayvon, Tragedy, and Traumas of the Everyday: A Community Conversation
Join the campus community for a conversation on the unresolved tragedy of the Trayvon Martin killing.
There were many inquiries as to what faculty, students, and staff were going to do on our campus to discuss the meaning of Trayvon Martin's killing and its aftermath. There has been a great sense of urgency and need for a way to discuss and frame what happened on February 26, 2012. On this day, unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed as he walked home from a convenience store in Florida, by armed George Zimmerman. To this day, no charges have been made against Zimmerman and until recently, no investigation was underway for this act that took place over a month ago.
What we do know is that 911 call tapes have been released and Zimmerman's description of Trayvon as "suspicious," wearing a hoody and tennis shoes, has propelled a mass movement around justice. There have also emerged thick conversations about racial profiling, black masculinity, violence, gun laws, and much more. This heinous act and the absence of response has opened the wounds of many around the world, not simply due to the racist nature of Zimmerman's acts or the police department's injustices, but the historic relationship between race, gender, and violence. Many have been killed and harassed unjustly under the premise of racial suspicion. Indeed, even the murder of Iraqi-American Shaima Alawadi might be understood in relation to this tragedy. Trayvon Martin's unresolved tragedy--and the fact that this story is one of many--is a reminder of the fiction that is "our post-racial America."
In response to such inquiries, several campus voices have come together to create a faculty-student forum, which will discuss what this tragedy means in this historic moment, what important work is yet to be done, and how this instance has implications for young men and women on this campus. This will be a conversation. Individual speakers will speak briefly first and then we will begin a dialogue with those who attend and feel compelled to speak. Afterwards, there will be a campus Vigil at the Nyumburu Cultural Center, 800pm.
Click here for flyer details to distribute to classes, students, etc.
Many thanks to The Departments of Women's Studies, American Studies, and African-American Studies. Also, TRIOTA: UMD's Women's Studies Honors Society. Without their support, this could not happen.