(The Root) — With his son on trial for murder in the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, the father of George Zimmerman has published an e-book criticizing the case and calling some African-American leaders who called for his son's arrest racists. Robert Zimmerman Sr.'s book, Florida v. Zimmerman: Uncovering the Malicious Prosecution of My Son, George, was released on Friday at Amazon.com for $3.99.
Zimmerman writes at length about his background and his family's multiracial identity, seemingly to counter accusations that his son, a 29-year-old neighborhood-watch volunteer, was racially motivated to shoot the unarmed black 17-year-old last year. Zimmerman is white, and his wife is Hispanic.
"In the Zimmerman household, relatives, friends, neighbors and classmates were certainly a diverse, wholly accepted mix." He describes his son's prom date as "a lovely young lady … They were an attractive couple. No one ever even considered the fact that George was Hispanic and the young lady happened to be black."
Zimmerman devotes a chapter to the racial overtones of the case that promise to further inflame the issue. In the chapter "Who Are the True Racists?" he accuses a number of black leaders and organizations of being racist. He also criticizes the attorneys representing the Martin family as being race-baiting schemers.
He writes that before the shooting, he believed that "generally racism was a thing of the past." But after the national outcry against his son, he says he realized that racism is "flourishing at the insistence of some in the African American Community."
As first reported in Think Progress, Zimmerman identifies several organizations and leaders that he believes are racist. He also implicates President Obama: "While stopping short of explicitly calling President Obama a racist, Zimmerman Sr. does say that Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have 'shamelessly' sought to exploit his son's case 'to obtain great advantage in the African-American community.' "
Zimmerman says that because of Holder's decision to investigate whether Trayvon Martin's death violated federal civil rights laws, the FBI did not have "adequate resources to investigate clearly identified potential terrorist [sic] in the Boston area." Now, "tragically, we have suffered the consequences of Mr. Holder's politically motivated decisions."
Here is Zimmerman's list of racism culprits:
Zimmerman on the Congressional Black Caucus:
"[A] pathetic, self-serving group of racists… advancing their purely racist agenda." He later adds that "all members of Congress should be ashamed of the Congressional Black Caucus, as should be their constituents." And finally: "They are truly a disgrace to all Americans."
Zimmerman on the NAACP:
"[S]imply promotes racism and hatred for their own, primarily finical, interests" and "without prejudice and racial divide, the NAACP would simply cease to exist."
Zimmerman on NAACP President Benjamin Jealous:
"[W]hat I would expect of a racist."
Zimmerman on Trayvon Martin's funeral director:
A "racial activist and former head of the local NAACP."
Zimmerman on Benjamin Crump, Natalie Jackson and Darly Parks, attorneys for Travyon Martin's family:
"The scheme team."
Corey Dade, an award-winning journalist based in Washington, D.C., is a former national correspondent at NPR and political reporter at the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and other news organizations. Follow him on Twitter.
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Corey Dade, an award-winning journalist based in Washington, D.C., is a former national correspondent at NPR and political reporter at the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and other news organizations. Follow him on Twitter.