It was the evening of July 13, 2013. There was an announcement on CNN that the jury in the George Zimmerman trial in Sanford, Florida was expected to reach a verdict. I like everyone, who was tuned into this channel sat on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what the verdict would be. I didn’t think that Mr. Zimmerman would be convicted of 2^nd degree murder. I did think that he would be found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. After all Trayvon had the right to be where he was. He was just a few feet away from where his dad lived. Mr. Zimmerman had a gun and he was an adult. When he caught up with Trayvon he should have become aware immediately that the person he was following was just a kid. Instead he claimed he was attacked and therefore he felt he had the right to shoot and kill this 17 year old kid.

After about an hour, CNN announced that the jury had reached its verdict. I watched on television as all those who needed to be in the courtroom were present. The judge looked at the verdict and then passed it on the clerk to read the result the jury had come to.

I was greatly disappointed when I heard the words “not guilty”. I could not understand how the jury could have come to that conclusion. I watched most of the trial and I felt that the state had proven that Mr. Zimmerman was responsible for the death of this young man.

A few days later CNN aired interviews they had with some of the jurors. After I listened to what these people had said, it became clear of what was going on.

Although these jurors were mothers they did not see this kid for who he was. He was a kid. They felt Trayvon was responsible for his own death because he was protecting himself from an adult who was told not to follow him.

It saddens my heart that another Black youth has lost his life. In this case I feel that he died directly because he was profiled by Mr. Zimmerman. I also feel that when the jury acquitted him they basically were stating that profiling was OK.

Profiling did not begin on February 26, 2012. That was the day Mr. Zimmerman shot and killed this 17 year old kid.

I can remember when I was old enough to understand my dad telling me stories about his youth. There was story after story of his experiences of being profiled and how he watched his friends being profiled. Some of those friends lost their lives as a result of profiling. Some of those stories, even to this day, scare me. It’s hard to imagine why one group of people would want to treat another group of people with such malice.

Recently President Obama spoke to the nation telling of his experiences of profiling. He shared how painful it is for every Black male in America when we hear and have these experiences.

I have my own stories of being followed in grocery and department stores. I was even an employee in one of those stores.

We as a country have come a long way regarding race relations but when these situations happen, it seems we have gone backwards.

As a positive parent who also happens to be Black, I have had and will continue to have conversations with my sons about race relations in this country. I and/or my sons could have been Trayvon.

In those conversations with my sons, I explain that we live in a society that sometimes treats its minority population not fairly. For that reason I have made sure that Wendell and Deshawn have proper identification on them at all times. It is important that they be able to establish who they are and where they live in case they are stopped by the police or some community activist. Jonathan is too young to have to worry about that but he will soon be at an age when he will experience being profiled.

Despite the killing of this young man, I do feel that we live in an age where the technology of this time is being used to expose this type of injustice. It is also being used to help organize all of us so that we can begin to make changes in the political and moral systems so that no parent will have to go through what the Martin family has gone through.

I am a person who has adopted the saying that “My glass is always ½ full” but even with positive thinking, I still worry about my kids. We live in the greatest country in the world and I hope and pray that we can get to a point in time when profiling will be a thing of the past.

I am the guy whose glass is always ½ full.

I LOVE BEING A DAD!!