The Trayvon Martin case: We have work to do.

 By Nomalanga Mhlauli-Moses

Ever since I heard about Trayvon Martin, the teenage boy who was brutally murdered by an over- zealous neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I was so emotionally impacted by the murder. I’ve realized that it means so much to me because a little over three years ago, I gave birth to the most adorable baby boy that I have ever known, my son.

Ever since the birth of my son, who is my second child, I have had to think about something that I never really used to give much consideration. I have had to think about what it means to grow up as a black boy in America. My husband, who was born and raised in America (I was born and raised in Botswana), has shared many stories of how he has experienced being assumed to be “dumb” in school, mainly because he was black and some stories about how he was assumed to be the aggressor in any conflict, again because he was Black. In spite of him having shared his experiences with me, the fact that he is now a grown man who has made tremendous advances in his career and his life goals, made his stories a little less real to me or at least not something that I had a great deal of concern about.

When I heard about Trayvon Martin, I had a moment where I wept uncontrollably and I realize that what has changed about me is that I am now a mother-I am Trayvon’s mother. My Trayvon is still only three years old and he goes by a different name that his father and I gave him but he is a sweet boy who we love very much and he does not deserve to be shot to death.

I cannot predict what will happen in the case of Trayvon Martin and his murderer, George Zimmerman but what I do know is that the current state of race relations and racial discrimination in America has to change. I know that I will do all that I know to do to effect this change and I will talk about it, write about it and blog about it and anything else I can do, all the days of my life. It is my hope and desire that, in my life time, I will see some real changes that will make me believe that my son and the sons of all the other mothers, specifically black mothers, in this country are safe when they walk out the door. Even if our sons make noise, cause  a “disturbance” or look like they are somewhere they should not be, the penalty should not be immediate execution at the hands of an overzealous watchman with a gun!

This is a fight that I cannot and will not walk away from. How can I? How can you? I am Trayvon’s mother and until there is justice for my son and until the racial climate of this country changes, my Trayvon and all the other Trayvons (black boys and men) are not safe.

Nomalanga Mhlauli-Moses is a wife, mother, professional speaker and an Assistant Professor of Professional Studies. For more information about Nomalanga’s programs, please click here.