A Call to Action, Shapers of Young Tongues, Shepherds of Young Voices!

Okay, brother and sister English teachers still fighting the good fight. You now have your “in” with black kids, if you didn’t before. Rachel Jeantel is arguably the most important witness in the Trayvon Martin murder. People with a heart for justice, want to see her succeed in shining light on the fact that Zimmerman was the aggressor even in the moment of confrontation. However, Rachel lacks the requisite language skills to have presented her testimony as clearly, coherently and convincingly as even she would have liked.

Her being pitted in a courtroom against attorneys whose business is language and logic is tantamount to me suiting up as the fifth man for the Heat against the Spurs and thinking I’m going to contribute something.

What an awful situation to be in. To have something to say. To want to say it in such a way that others might listen and understand. To need to be able to speak up on behalf of someone or something you care about. Yet to be unable to do so ____________.

To hell with folks who want to make fun of her! How dare you? Do you not understand that to diminish someone else is to diminish yourself? And you somehow think she’s the only one worthy of ridicule? How can you not see yourself?

It’s senseless to see this as only an opportunity to mock another. This is an opportunity to rally our children–all children–to the value of finding one’s voice and learning how to use it well.

George Zimmerman Trial