“Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me”

A black President spoke on race and it was as powerful and personal a speech as President Obama has ever given.

More important, it was a speech that had to be given in the wake of the Zimmerman trial that has left Americans polarized on the not guilty verdict. It was an attempt to make white Americans sensitive to the fact that black experience and history drives the way in which African-Americans interpret the Trayvon Martin tragedy.

You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away.

And…

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