What could be funnier than dressing as a bloodied-Trayvon Martin and a neighborhood watch captain for Halloween? Almost anything, really.
This Halloween, a photo featuring two men dressed as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has made its way across the internet, drawing much attention and outrage along the way. Aside from the obvious insensitivity and racism, these Halloween costumes do more than poke fun at the minor who lost his life in February of 2012. These costumes highlight our nation’s growing distrust of those claiming to protect and serve our neighborhoods and cities.
The shooting death of Trayvon Martin has sparked much discussion of racial profiling. Sadly, however, minorities have more to fear than a lone vigilante wielding a gun in the name of the neighborhood watch.
Just ask the minorities in the streets of New York City. Under the city’s infamous stop-and-frisk policy, racial profiling is not only pervasive but government sanctioned. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, minorities have been consistently targeted under the stop-and-frisk policy. Just last year, police conducted 532,911 stop-and-frisks; 55% of these were of black subjects and another 32% were of Latino subjects.
So tonight, whether you don traditional Halloween garb or choose something a bit more racially charged, minorities beware! The neighborhood is watching.
[photo by Toby Ord via Wikimedia Commons]