I posted my words about the Trayvon Martin case, but looking at it from an American perspective such as the piece you’re going to read from Azevia (@tryna_be_famous) will probably shed a different light in your thought process. Enjoy.

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My name is Azevia Craft II. I am 23 years old and I am a black man from Detroit, Michigan. I have never smoked, I have a college degree; never been arrested, let alone have a police record. I don’t have kids running around; no “baby mama drama,” I don’t stay at home, and I know both of my parents. In the black community, that doesn’t make me a “real nigga.”

Do I deserve to be shot if I wear a hoodie or “look suspect?” Let me say that the verdict does not surprise me because I was not feeble minded enough to believe George Zimmerman went there with the intent to “kill a nigger” as many black people seem to think. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t in the wrong. This is my problem; the young black community is trapped in a mindset where gangs and shit like this is okay. Young rapper Lil Reese beat a female ON CAMERA and I remember tweets of laughter (including myself, I admit) because of the sheer fact that he did not give a damn about it. We want Lil Boosie free even though he is believed to have committed murder. People want C Murder free when he killed a young teen, yet we want Zimmerman locked up. I hate that this case became more of a race issue than it already was. It’s obvious that George Zimmerman had some type of prejudice but honestly can we really blame him? Before you call me a Zimmerman supporter, I am not. There is no reason he should have even left his car to follow someone that scared him off so bad. But imagine how many kids like Trayvon that Zimmerman MAY have seen doing something wrong. Think about it, we have to look at this from all sides. We as black people even know that there are some black people out here that you just shy away from because of appearance, which leads me to this – the worst thing Trayvon Martin did on that day was be black and in a hooded sweatshirt. I have THREE younger brothers whose normal attire are: basketball shorts and hoodies, jordans and flip flops. Should they be shot? Im 6’1, over 300 pounds, should I be shot for simply looking like a scary figure? I have 6 tattoos and wear earrings – am I a criminal? I have to look my little brothers in the eye and tell them that being like me isn’t right in America. If I have a son, I have to sit him down and tell him that there are still people that will kill him for the darkness of his skin. Kanye West said it best, “Racism still alive, they just be concealing it.”  We have a black president, but have we really received change? When is enough, enough?

My final thoughts are: I actually never believed Zimmerman would be found guilty but this case has set a dangerous precedent. What happens when Trayvon becomes Little Timmy? And what about us black people killing each other? Are we right to bitch about what another race does to us when WE DO IT TO OURSELVES? We black people can’t call racism to every crime done against us when we do the same things. Racism is still alive, but that doesn’t mean every non-black person is a racist. For every person with prejudice like George Zimmerman, there is a person who treats us as equal and doesn’t judge us by the color of our skin. This case was a racial issue brought on by ourselves sadly. Rest In Peace to Trayvon Martin. You didn’t get your justice, and we black people have to take some blame for that as well.