(The Root) — Tuesday, Feb. 26, marked the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old, self-appointed neighborhood-watch captain, who now awaits trial for murder in the second degree.
Trayvon would have celebrated his 18th birthday this month. A Million Hoodie March was organized in New York City this week in remembrance. The teen, whose untimely death sparked a national debate about racial profiling and the meaning of self-defense, was once described by a teacher as an "A and B student who majored in cheerfulness."
According to official reports, Trayvon walked to 7-Eleven to buy Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea before returning to a gated community in Sanford, Fla., where he was visiting his father. Zimmerman called 911 upon seeing Trayvon, claiming the boy was "suspicious" and looked "like he's on drugs." Zimmerman followed the teenager; a confrontation ensued and Trayvon was shot to death.
What appeared to have been a prima facie case became blurry when Sanford police released Zimmerman without charge — accepting his assertion of self-defense under Florida's "Stand your ground" law. However, after widespread media focus and a federal investigation, the special prosecutor concluded that Trayvon was racially profiled, aggressively pursued and murdered.
Zimmerman's criminal background didn't help his claim of innocence. Reports emerged that Zimmerman had been arrested for assaulting a police officer and had a history of domestic violence. After being charged with Trayvon's murder and released on bond, Zimmerman was detained again when prosecutors discovered that he and his wife, Shellie, lied under oath during his bond hearing.
The picture began to fit the crime.
After a few months, Zimmerman gave his first televised interview, in which he said his shooting of Trayvon was "God's plan" — an insensitive choice of words. This followed a racially tinged interview with Zimmerman's father in which he attacked President Obama and civil rights activists like the Rev. Al Sharpton for inciting "hatred."
In the months that followed, the Zimmerman team embarked on a media tour.
Robert Zimmerman Jr., George's older brother, has emerged as the family spokesperson. The move to try the case in the public sphere appears to be a deliberate strategy designed by Mark O'Mara, George's media-savvy defense attorney. Robert, who is tempered and articulate, has appeared on CNN with Piers Morgan, HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher, Fox's Good Morning Los Angeles and Univision, the Spanish-language channel. Robert has offered several interviews to local Florida networks and conducted an exclusive talk sponsored by the Orlando chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
The purpose of the media blitz has been to reframe George Zimmerman as a likable guy who embraces his partial Hispanic heritage — and somehow could not possibly be racist. Robert made a point of telling Maher that their mother is of "Afro-Peruvian" descent, and in his interview with Univision's Jorge Ramos, he went so far as to accuse Trayvon supporters and the mainstream press of paddling a racist narrative. "Racism is a very lucrative sport in this country," Robert said. "A lot of people make lots of money … accusing others of racism, without even proving it."
Gladys Zimmerman, George's mother, spoke candidly in a CNN interview, claiming that the most upsetting aspect of the ordeal has been that her son "was called a racist." She also expressed disappointment with President Obama's empathetic reaction to the case, when he said, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."
Speaking to Univision, Gladys and Robert said that the president was unduly influenced by Trayvon supporters. "Seeing how this case has been worked by the attorneys for Trayvon Martin's family, I don't blame the president," Gladys quipped. "They fooled him, too."
Their response may not be atypical of family members defending a loved one, but it is certainly a surreptitious strategy to muddy the facts, contaminate the jury pool and reverse-engineer claims of racism.
Zimmerman recently filed a defamation suit against NBC Universal Media, arguing that the network deliberately contrived a racial motive in the killing. NBC has denied all claims. The suit appears to be an attempt to collect a lucrative settlement, as well as a ploy to silence media criticism and speculation of Zimmerman's actions.
Even Maher, known for his brash commentary, became unusually conciliatory in his interview with Robert, going so far as to say he's not sure "if George is racist," and no one knows "what happened that night."
This is Mark O'Mara's plan realized.
Using Zimmerman's family members to paint a more amiable picture of the defendant works in conjunction with O'Mara's request to delay the trial (which was denied by the judge) — possibly with hopes that the public will eventually forget about Trayvon, or simply care less. The Zimmerman team seems to believe that the more time passes, the more George's chances of acquittal improve.
Meanwhile, conservative media outlets have spent a year attacking Trayvon Martin's character — advancing a metanarrative that is all too common when it comes to young black males. The idea that Trayvon was a thug who threatened Zimmerman's life isn't supported by the facts but is embraced by some who cling to the stereotype of criminal, predatory black males. O'Mara released photos of Zimmerman's bloody nose as circumstantial evidence that Trayvon was the true aggressor, a real threat and the cause of his own death.
Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's mother, addressed this point in an exclusive interview with The Root: "I find it offensive that people try to say Trayvon threatened George Zimmerman. Anyone could look at my boy and see he was a kid. He had only just had his growth spurt, and was a skinny, lanky boy. He was a child. And he was my child."
Unlike Zimmerman's team, the Martin family hasn't chosen to release photos. There is no stark image of Trayvon's dead body — shot through the chest — bloodied in the gardens of Sanford, with his knuckles bruised from a fight for his life. But perhaps Americans need to see that image as much as they needed to see Emmett Till's broken body. Otherwise, it seems, Zimmerman's family and legal team are hell-bent on rewriting history and pushing a new narrative that says the victim had no right to live.
Edward Wyckoff Williams is contributing editor at The Root. He is a columnist and political analyst, appearing on Al Jazeera, MSNBC, ABC, CBS Washington and national syndicated radio. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
Edward Wyckoff Williams is a contributing editor at The Root. He is a columnist and political analyst, appearing on Al-Jazeera, MSNBC, ABC, CBS Washington and national syndicated radio. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.