NC NAACP: Zimmerman is Arrested today, but the work to Arrest racial profiling and racial injustice in the legal system continues tomorrow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 11, 2012

For More Information:     Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                         Mrs. Amina J. Turner,  Executive Director, 919-682-4700

Zimmerman is Arrested today, but the work to Arrest racial profiling and racial injustice in the legal system continues tomorrow

Tonight was an important beginning with the arrest and second degree murder charge against George Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin. It begins what we have wanted in the Civil Rights Community: an arrest and a fair and open trial based on the facts. It begins the process of restoring some faith and hope that justice will be blind and our legal system will be impartial.  

But while it is a beginning, it is not an end. It should not be an end to our prayers for Trayvon's family. It should not be an end to us remembering that an innocent teenager was racially profiled for wearing a hoodie and "carrying skittles while black" with deadly consequences. Trayvon, who could have been any of our sons, is dead. It should not be an end to our following or monitoring this case. While Zimmerman has been arrested, it certainly doesn't put an end to the racial profiling and racial application of arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment in our communities. Rather, now more than ever, racial profiling must be challenged by an ongoing Movement that demands respect, raises a moral outcry and registers our position politically through the electoral process in ways that continue to challenge systemic injustice.

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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.