Give Them the Chance to be Young, Gifted and Black - Higher Education

Give Them the Chance to be Young, Gifted and Black - Higher Education: The chorus of people, both Black and White, who are outraged with the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict has only increased. Trayvon Martin, the African-American boy who was only 17 years old is dead, and Zimmerman is seemingly out of control. He has been stopped by police at least twice on traffic violations, and now he allegedly had a bad encounter with his wife and his father-in-law.

You would think a man in his precarious state would steer clear of law enforcement officials. But George Zimmerman seems to be courting trouble. It almost seems as though he is saying, “I gotcha and you can’t catch me now.” Seems to me that Zimmerman is playing out a “bad hand.” Others agree.

Patrick Williams, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Institute for Life Coach Training said, “He saw somebody [Zimmerman] who thought he did the community a favor, you know; like he was some hero.” Williams added, “The biggest predictor of your future is your past. I think people kind of create their reality. And I’m not sure he’s learned to make good choices.”

I have often said that if you are Black and male, when you leave the house, you may never see it again. Why? The chances of us being shot or killed are pretty high.