The shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman has long evoked a debate over racism and whether or not racial profiling was a factor in the case. Florida producer Beth Marshall recently created a a series of short plays that paid tribute to the memory of Martin and she seems to believe that if Trayvon had been white like her own son then he would still be alive.
In a related report by The Inquisitr , Robert Zimmerman is planning a Zimmerman family reality TV show and a line of self defense products called Brand Z. The shooting of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn has often been compared to the situation with Trayvon Martin and the so-called “loud music” retrial just gave a final verdict.
Beth Marshall says her Trayvon Martin tribute explores issues like race relations, parenting, and gun control laws and weapon ownership. For example, one play called “The Items” imagines a Senate hearing in the future where politicians are debating and giving testimony regarding “a consumer product considered too dangerous to sell, or even to call by name.” Another play delivers an oral history of Sanford, which is the area where Zimmerman and Martin met that fateful day. Another short play is called “Hoodies” and it does not take much imagination to guess what that refers to.
The plays were written by Rob Winn Anderson, James Brendlinger, Paris Crayton III, Janine Klein, Dennis Neal and Steve Schneider. Marshall says she gathered these particular playwrights since she “knew [they] had a good grasp of the social politics of the situation.” Regarding the political angle of the shooting, Marshall had one comment to say that is sure to invite controversy.
“I was online when the news [of Trayvon Martin’s shooting] came out. I knew right in that moment that I wanted to have a voice, artistically, to do what I could to bridge that gap,” Marshall says . “Personally…I have a son the same age. He’s white. I knew if this was my son, he’d still be alive.”
The issue of whether or not George Zimmerman is a racist has long caused debate, and even resulted in a lawsuit against NBC . Those who claim racism did not play a factor in the shooting of Trayvon Martin point out how an investigation by the FBI concluded Zimmerman is not racist .
Before the shooting of Trayvon took place, Zimmerman was one of the few non-black people who helped protest the beating of a black homeless man in the Sanford area. Ironically, Zimmerman tried to enlist the help of a local branch of the NAACP, but they did not want to help so he printed his own fliers and distributed them at black churches in the area.
When Zimmerman protested the racial violence at the time, this is what he said:
“I would just like to state that the law is written in black and white. It should not and cannot be enforced in the gray for those that are in the thin blue line.”
There’s also those who claim Trayvon racially profiled George since he was recorded on audio calling Zimmerman “creepy ass cracker.”
At the same time, there are former friends of Zimmerman now claiming he did in fact racially profile Trayvon. It’s claimed that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin partially because the neighborhood had been experiencing a series of break-ins and robberies by young black males. As part of the neighborhood watch, Zimmerman had been involved in stopping some of these previous burglaries and it’s alleged that Zimmerman was more suspicious of Martin due to this history.
What do you think about Beth Marshall’s comments about Trayvon Martin?
[Image Via NewsBusters ]