They are not protesting for "all other kids justice"....they need to take all this "concern" for justice for all the "little children" up to Detroit and Chicago and all the cities where innocent black children, AND TEENS, are being murdered senslessly, on a daily basis. These are truly innocent CHILDREN, children 4 - 12 years old, as well as teenagers 13 -18, and young adults, that are being murdered for their shoes, their bikes, their skateboards, just for sitting on the steps in front of their house, just because some thug doesnt like the way the children look, just because they are "tuff gang bangers, just because they have to do that to get initiated into some gang. Why havent all these "concerned" and "upset" people glommed up and marched in the streets, immortalizing the memory of THOSE innocent children and teens??? Because statistical data clearly shows THOSE senseless murders are "black on black" crime, and there is NO gain, political or otherwise, to get all riled up over those kids.... I am disappointed by the people of Houston acting with mob mentality. Fortunately, they have not yet deteriorated to the point where they pillage and burn and vandalize innocent peoples property, just because they didnt get their way, or something didnt turn out like they wanted it to......they usually show more appropriate methods of proving a particular point, than parading down an open freeway, with cars traveling at speeds in excess of 70 mph. God forbid they get mowed down by some INNOCENT person, who is legally on the freeway. Or God forbid they cause some innocent person to get killed in a car accident, as cars swerve to avoid hitting some misguided "mourner" walking in the road! Hopefully, the police will be on site, preventing this ill planned activity.

Like I said before this is being done for all children no matter what race or age. It is great to finally see people stand up for what they believe in. No I don't agree with people walking on busy freeways or burning things down. It has been layers and famous people that have announced that people need to protest peacefully and in honor of Trayvon.

The one thing that is still bafflingly to me is the "Sound Of Wet Grass". It has been raining here and I went outside to test my grass and it doesn't make a sound. So I called my sister and had her listen for me and she didn't hear anything.

I just can't figure this one out.

All I know is, this is just something that shouldn't happened, but it did and does all the time. So sad all the way around.

My heart does go out to BOTH Families.

Brit, you mentioned a few celebs who do some very nice things but they also do some horrific and terrible things, a lot of which include drugs and alcohol and acting out. Even the good they do is not largely impacting the kids in real trouble living in gangs or dropping out of school and I would add that those violent movies and lyrics in songs and raps are adding to the problem of violence in our country - inciting it by glamorizing it with these larger than life figures portraying a life of violence as cool and ultimately rewarding. Don't tell me a huge billboard of a sweaty, muscled-up good-looking male movie star, biceps and pecs bulging, stomach ripped and beautiful women hanging off his arms as he holds an assault rifle in each hand doesn't glamorize violence. As well as the movie or genre entertainment it is advertising. That does obligate them to help kids who feed off it since stars rake in inordinate amounts of what is considered "obscene income" when Fortune 500 CEO's make it - MONEY. And celebs make far more obscene money than a CEO could ever dream of. And the royalties roll in long after they are dead, in so many cases due to royalties. And entertainers make obscene money seemingly the more loud and violent and shocking a movie, book or song can get. I think the people that perpetuate a violent lifestyle in their "art" are obligated to try to fix the problem in proportion to the violence they help idealize in that "art". And if they are scared - well, that says it all. They are scared to face what they have gotten rich off helping to make worse by making it seem so cool.

Couldn't hurt for them to start by finding ways to make entertainment far less violent, more uplifting and hopeful and to work at and find ways to go en mass - two dozen or more at a time into the streets of gang violence. They've got security and could hire an army of security if they wanted. I doubt very seriously some gang member is going to come out and start blasting a few dozen stars saying we are here to visit, hang and help, talk. But maybe not, maybe they'll just keep on doing what they are doing which is a drop in the bucket it seems in comparison to the haul they make off those poor kids.

And gang members aren't going to shoot the Sharptons and Jacksons and the King kids and Ben Jealous if they show up and hang with gang children regularly, spend time trying to help one on one and mentor, take them to the store, the doctor, help their moms babysit kids while she chills, work side by side telling them ways out and raising money to help those kids. I think these kids need more than foundations trying to help them - they need some men they can look up to and want to please and to pull for them and not just Trayvon.

No, they won't go down into the pits of the streets but they will Tweet and rant on TV about one Florida kid when all those little brothers and sons and young fathers on the gang streets die in huge numbers every day.

https://www.chicagoreporter.com/news...-american-city

I thought I was crazy for going outside and trying to hear what wet grass sound like. I still can figure it out lol. I think maybe she heard his phone slide but it was wet grass for sure.

I have no idea who Zimmerman or Trayvon are because I don't watch the news (and stuff like this is why). However - I try to remember that a jury is composed of regular, everyday people like you and like me. I also know that jurors have access to more information than what is free for all to know.

We as the general public have access to news outlets, magazines, interviews from family, generalized pictures of the perpetrator and the victims, etc. We are effected, whether some like to admit it or not, by these outlets. Jurors are supposed to come in unaware of the case until they sit it on it...I think that makes a big difference. Their minds aren't pre-made up by the media.

I'm NOT saying this person deserved the acquittal. Like I said, I know nothing about these people, I only clicked on it because for some reason I thought it was a spin-off of Charlotte's Web until I realized that was Zuckerman, not Zimmerman (I seriously do not watch the news).

Maybe he deserved to be charged, heck if I know. All I know for sure is that the media plays a big part in what we perceive to be truth.

Its sad that so many of you all get mad at famous people for giving money to the communities. Yes they do need role models but the money is given to help build the community to give them therresources they need to keep the kids off the streets. Its sad that when people stand up for something they believe in they get bashed for not doing other things. Its sad that more than half of you all sit on here and talk about changes that needs to be made in Chicago and other areas but you all are not willing to get out there and help. Its sad that most of y'all will never have to talk to you kids about how someone will judge you based off the color of you skin and the opportunity they might not ever be able to have because of there color but you all can sit here and write like y'all understand the pressure that a black male has to go through. Half of y'all don't understand and will never understand because you live a life where things are handed to you on a silver platter.

Who are you referring to? All the white women on here? Or just anyone who isn't black? Here we go again with the race card.

Handed things on a silver platter huh? Like what central heating and running water? Paved sidewalks? That's how my mom and mil grew Up in a third world county. At least most of the poor blacks you are referring to live in proper buildings and not shanty towns and they have running water.

I'm not bashing money, just saying that's not helping these kids in the basic ways they need to get hope and a break in life, without those leaders doing more. Much is given to those leaders and more can be done by far to help so many of the people who made them wealthy beyond measure.

And until you know where a person's monthly money goes and for what charities, their lifetime of work and volunteer/charity/one-on-one work, don't ever assume what that person has done to walk the walk they now just have to talk about. Many of us have given all we had to the downtrodden and poor and can no longer do that. Time for others to step up who have the means and ability to do it.

4 unnoticed lives lost - no winners
 

There were no winners in this whole ordeal. Unless we change the tone in this nation then this family that lost their son and the other family that knows their son is a target will continue to suffer all of this pain and without society learning and growing from this debacle. We have so many opinions about this subject. In the meantime there are more children being killed and not just with guns. They are being killed in many ways. Even worse we are killing their spirit and hope for a better life. We are teaching them to get angry and not improve relations.

In the meantime, I want to mention these children were all killed during the Zimmerman/Martin trial but their loss has gone unnoticed.



June 28, five year old Sterling Sims was killed in a double murder that also claimed the life of his mother, 31 year old Chavonne Brown. Both were shot in their apartment, and police believe the motive was robbery.

July 1, 16 year old Antonio Fenner was gunned on the sidewalk next to the body of a 32 year old man who had gang ties. No arrests were made, and no suspects have been named. Fenner's mother believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time because no one in her family knew the other victim or what Fenner's association was to him.

July 3, 14 year old Damani Henard was murdered outside a high school. His body was found next to a bicycle.

July 9, 15 year old Ed Cooper was shot and killed while spending time with friends at the park. A gunman got out of a black van and began firing as the boys ran away. Cooper was shot in the street and continued running to a vacant lot where he died.

I hope we soon reach a time where we have all had the proper time to vent and share our thoughts to then start the healing, problem solving and improving society process. We are all strong independent thinkers so we don't need to let those with an agenda and those looking for a fight shape our thinking or prevent us from doing something for the positive. These 4 youths that died during the trial did not get the attention they deserved. I want to find a way to stop 4 more innocent lives from being lost and discounted or prevent innocent lives from losing their spirit and hope for a better future.

I pray the Martin and Zimmerman families with time can find a path to ease their overwhelming pain and that we have learned something to prevent this torment from happening again.

Just my thoughts I needed to share and hopefully I did not offend anyone.

Wow I never said that I directed that to white people. You pulled the race card not me. I was directing that to one person I was saying in general. I believe it takes everyone to change the world and communities not just one person. I feel just like we can't stay in these places forever and help because we have work and families so do famous people. They do what they can when they can (well some of them).

Ok sure, I pulled the race card?

You are making a lot of assumptions about the skin color and backgrounds/experience of people posting here. Aren't assumptions what you are speaking out against in your post?

I don't recall anyone saying celebs should not give money. Maybe I am misunderstanding.

Who is mad for famous people giving money to communities? I seem to have missed that.

Nobody said that it is wrong to stand up for what you believe in. But you can't zero in on one isolated case and ignore the bigger problem. And going out to Chicago to help? Do you seriously think a pasty-skinned middle-aged woman would be taken seriously there? The problem is from within and outsiders can't go in and tell people what to do, especially since you also claim that white people don't understand the black man. You can't have it both ways.

Black people are not the only ones that are judged based on their color. In fact, you are judging whited based on their color in your statement above. I have been judged based on my color. People have called me racist just because I am white and politically conservative, even though I have never done anything remotely racist and see all people as simply "children of God."

Why do you assume that white people have everything handed to them "on a silver platter?" My father was an hourly worker, my Mom a stay-at-home mom. I did not come from wealth. I did have two parents, a roof over my head, and I never went hungry because my Mom cooked at home and stretched a nickel like nobody else, used coupons, and menus were built around whatever was on special and what was fresh or put up from a family garden. There was no money for "extras." No girl scouts, no dancing lessons, no frills. Eating out was a rarity, and that includes fast food. Clothes were hand-me-downs.

I started studying hard in high school so that I could get a scholarship and pay my way through college. My excellent grades, which I EARNED through hard work (instead of hanging out, having fun, and getting into trouble, which would have been MUCH easier), got me the scholarship I wanted. I buckled down and worked hard for 4 more years and EARNED a degree that was difficult (and marketable, unlike some of those useless degrees they give out today in some subjects that can't get you a job) in chemistry. I went to work in an entry level position and worked my way up giving it everything I had. I performed to the best of my abilities, no slacking. I was rewarded with promotions, but I didn't go live high on the hog and spend all of the fruits of my labor. Even though I could have bought more throughout the years ... bigger house, new cars, more clothes, more fancy vacations ... I live in moderate but comfortable housing, I drive cars that are not luxury models and I keep them for at least 10 years, I rarely buy new clothes, and we do one nice vacation per year. Because we have worked hard and lived within our means and saved money all of our lives, we can now exhale. But it took HARD work, for MANY years, and not giving in to instant gratification. No silver platter involved.

****I consider my dogs to be a big "splurge" -- they are not a need but a huge privilege --- and am so grateful to have them in my life and the means to take care of them properly.****

I would be willing to bet that my story is not all that unusual here, that 99% of us got where they are by hard work, not some fairy tail-like silver platter. IMO, that silver platter is just an excuse to explain away why some people have things and others don't. Unless you are born into wealth and have a trust fund, there is no such thing, and that is rare. Most people have to work for what they have, no matter what their color.

You say that none of us understand what a black man has to go through, and of course that is true. Heck, I don't understand what a white man has to go through or even another white woman I meet on the sidewalk. You can't possibly understand anyone else, no matter what their color, until you walk a mile in their shoes.

It's interesting to me, though, that you point out that whites can't understand a black man, yet you think that you know what whites go through. 50% of whites have everything handed to them on a silver platter? Nope, not even close to the truth. I worked in a fortune 500 company for many years, and everyone I knew there -- no matter what color they were -- from the mail room clerk to the CEO -- worked to get where they were.

Furthermore, I think you are doing a great disservice to blacks that have worked their way up in this world. I have many black people in my neighborhood that I call friend and I know their stories and know that they started out in "the ghetto" (their words, not mine). I don't pretend to understand what that was like, but their stories about their journey have much in common with mine. They studied hard. They scraped their way through college. They worked hard, persevered, and were fiscally responsible. It's more difficult and it can be done. They are giving their kids a better start than they had, but their kids are still having to do the work to get where they want to go. No silver platter.

And I'm just verbally offering things I think could help some of the kids dying in the streets, which is what my life is reduced to for the present by circumstances I can't control. And frankly, even my ideas are limited these day - I'll admit it. But it is s a time for dialogue and for the races to come together to try to find ways to help those given up for lost and forgotten by so many. We'd better face as a society that young black men cannot readily get a decent job! Few will hire them. How are we going to change that? How do we give them hope and inspiration? How can we keep them in school? If you think are leaders and celebs are doing enough, is that it?

If the very influential and powerful will give more of themselves and not just toss money at the problem, I think they can give hope and influence for good. The Lord knows their money is needed but far more me time could do wonders for hopeless kids with few fatherly types around showing another way to maybe get out of the lifestyle.

Next, if everyday citizens will show up to mentor and help, take a kid out for dinner, a talk and a visit to their work, it will help. And keep going back and back and back and helping a kid one on one. Everyday citizens can't hire security guards and cameramen to help keep them safe in the worst areas as the very wealthy and celebrity figure can but can still go many, many places. Showing up to fix up their schools and volunteer. Invite them to your home for dinner, take them to a game. Talk to your friends and see if you can arrange a job. Take a kid to church or temple or synagogue. Teach a teenager to read.

Some can't give any more money to the cause of black children than I'm presently giving without skipping on my bills or physically do anything now so all we can do is blab and wish those that could influence by their very presence would do more face to face. They could if they would. I hope this time of pain over the death of that one poor child will enlarge discourse to make people that can give more money, the famous help more by inciting less violence through entertainment, everyday people volunteer more and show up on the scenes of hopelessness in our communities to involve themselves personally or, if nothing really changes, all we'll ever have is more mistrust or death.

How do you think we can help less black children die every day, Princess keke, if our abilities and funds now are limited?

So, you're trying to say that white people are handed things on a silver platter, but black people aren't? And that's not racist? Because the color of your skin has zero to do with how you make a life for yourself. I know plenty of wealthy black families and grew up with one as my best friend. Her parents were extremely successful and she was basically handed everything on a silver platter because that's what her parents wanted to be able to do for her! They worked hard to make a life for themselves and didn't expect anything to be given to them because of the color of their skin. How does a black male have any more pressure than a Mexican male in America? Or a white male? Or an Asian male?

IMO, it's how you carry yourself. I don't care if you're black or white, if you walk around with your pants hanging down your ankles, big heavy chains hanging off your neck, a grill in your mouth, and not speaking proper English, you're going to be looked at differently, or judged, even if unfairly and even if you're a good person. Heck if you sport a mohawk, tattoos, and pink hair, you're going to looked at differently too. But you're kind of bringing that on yourself. I know some very successful middle aged black males and they go through life just the same as the white males that I know. I don't even notice their color, nor does it come into play -- it just... doesn't. They speak professionally, they made a life for themselves and didn't expect anything to be GIVEN to them because of the color of their skin.

Thank you for pointing those horrible deaths out and naming them. Not many people are mourning them because no one of note used their deaths to stay relevant or hype ratings or Tweet themselves to more followers. So many dying and only one is so widely being mourned because his killer was lighter-skinned(many labelled him as white) and his motives instantly ascribed to race.

I didn't follow the case closely -- Trayvon didn't grow up poor and disadvantaged, did he?

I know his folks were divorced and wasn't he living with another relative at the time of his death or did I hear that wrong? But I didn't get the impression that he was raised in economic lack or a lack of education. But he was a young black male and they don't always get a lot of great chances in life sometimes unless they are quite gifted and exceptional.

Let me break it down I got to a school in a racists area yes I am African American. At school is were I got to know a lot of my Caucasian friends that I have grown to love. Now I had never experienced someone being racists towards me until my sophomore year in college.I told her the things I had experienced while down there and she just couldn't believe me. I told her you are blind and don't see it because it never happens to you. Well one day when we went to eat together a Caucasian couple was mad that I was able to eat in the place and wanted to move seats to get away from the spot I was in. My friend turned around and went off on them. She felt so bad for what I had just had to hear. She said I thought racism was over. I never knew it was still going on and I did ever notice it. An like I told her the color of your skin can change you entire life and the way people treat you.

Now I honor and look up to my black brothers and sisters that have made it to the top because its not easy but every does not have that opportunity no matter how hard they try. Some will never even get one chance because of the color of their skin and where they came from.

So no im not downing the blacks that have made it to the top they got the opprtunity but go outsude your community and talk to the ones who have tried day in and day out, who went to schhol and came out with a 4.0 GPA and still have nothing. Its easy for everyone to make their story sound good when they have finally made it.

n the person who said something about the famous people has already commented and i thank her for not being rude or think i was being racists.

He lived with his mother. He was visiting his father and his girl friend at the time of his death.

I saw someone say something about blacks killing other black people and I totally agree. It was Cray to me when this guy told me its a difference when a different race kill each other then the same race killing each other. When he said the my mouth almost hit the floor. I couldn't believe that some people really think that way.

Thanks, glad to know. I didn't watch the trial itself except for a minute or two occasionally but sometime on one of those evening talk shows on HLN, someone said something about Trayvon wasn't living with either parent at the time of his death because of school troubles and just about the time they started talking about who he was staying with, I got distracted. Just shows how wrong things get out and about.

I know, right? Seems to kind of rather excuse one kind of killing! Ah well, people say all kinds of things don't make good sense at times.

If my greatest hope could be realized it would be that AMERICANS become AMERICANS first and each of us be proud of our varied heritage. Except for our Native American brothers and sisters, we are all from "somewhere else". Each of us with a story to tell, each from a country that has a rich heritage of both good and evil. Until we, as AMERICANS, stop seeing in color and or black and white, and see fellow AMERICANS first we will continue to have racial conflict.

It seems not to matter that Zimmerman's father is a white American (which means his ancestors came from another country and perhaps another ethnticity as long as the skin color was white) and his mother is Peruvian which, like America has a rich cultural background -- Amerindians 45%, Mestizos 37%, Whites 15%, Asian Peruvians and Afro-Peruvians 3%.

So IF race and/or ethnicity is "the" issue, then consider that in reality it was a young Black man (Martin) and an older young Latino man (Zimmerman) because this IS the United States of America and the United States Census uses the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.

It seems to me that all AMERICANS should realize that what happened was a sad day for America. But then again what about the multitude of youth killed each year by gangs, because of drugs, hate crimes, etc. Not to mention the thousands of innocents that lose their lives before they are born. All are AMERICAN TRAGEDIES that have a story that deserves to be heard.

Looks like the focus is on pressing to imprison George Zimmerman for the present and not the killers of any other black or brown kids. If Mr. Zimmerman had only been black, does anyone think we would be having all of these protests and Tweeting and posturing for one shooter to go to jail? Anybody?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...96F0ZN20130716

George Zimmerman protesters seek federal charges. - chicagotribune.com

No we wouldn't which I think is sad. Sad to say it happens with all races and it never ends up big until other races start to kill each other.

I don't remember this kind of reaction after O. J. Simpson was acquitted of killing a young woman and a young man of a different race. Maybe there was and I just missed all those worldwide protests, traffic being stopped, people arrested for hostilities during protests and preachers and cultural leaders calling for the Attorney General to prosecute O.J. And we were probably far more racially divided then than we are now.

I know nothing about the OJ trail so I really can't speak on it but I am glade that now he is in jail for his wrong doings and he didnt get away with it. Like I mentioned earlier I think the only reason why this went so big is because at first it wasn't even going to be a trail. They were trying to sweep it under the rug like nothing ever happened. They wasn't really communicating with his parents and would really give them information. This was try and has been stated even by Zimmerman layer. I think they felt like getting the story out would give them the opportunity to have a trial and it did.