Two months ago, a hooded sweatshirt held little significance aside from a warm article of clothing.

But on Feb. 26, when a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was wearing a hoodie, the article of clothing became something to rally around.

Although the volunteer, George Zimmerman, said he acted in self-defense, the shooting raised serious questions about racial profiling and self-defense laws. But the ultimate outcome of Martin’s death has yet to be seen. Since the shooting, thousands of protestors have gathered in New York City and Philadelphia for ‘Million Hoodie Marches,’ and protest movements have spread to college campuses nationwide.

Many have attributed the outrage over this particular crime to the use of social media, as well as Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law.

At Syracuse University, several events have been held in honor of Martin in the past two weeks, including a ‘Hoodies for Trayvon Martin’ rally, a forum to discuss the shooting and ‘1,000 Campus Vigil for Trayvon,’ which was held simultaneously on campuses across the nation April 4.

The media traditionally gives little attention to the deaths of African-American youths, which is why Martin’s story didn’t make national news until weeks after his death, said Hubert Brown, associate dean for research, creativity, international initiatives and diversity at SU.

‘It might have stayed the kind of case where nobody knew much about it around the country had it not been for Twitter,’ he said. ‘This is a story that in journalistic terms is old now, but it was made new and was made more relevant by social media.’

The nature of the crime and the racial implications it suggests make it resonate with a national audience. Because Zimmerman has not been arrested, it is a continuing story and remains in national headlines even six weeks after the shooting, Brown said.

‘There is a tremendous amount of outrage,’ he said. ‘There was a shooting, and the individual that we all now know was responsible for that shooting is walking around.’

Zimmerman is protected by Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law and has not been charged with any crime.

Every state has some version of a self-defense law to protect innocent victims of crimes and perceived attacks, said Lisa Dolak, a professor in the College of Law. But Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law goes further than most in the extent of protection it offers.

In Florida, she said, a threatened individual does not have an obligation to retreat before using force to defend himself or herself, even in public. Florida additionally offers immunity for self-defense, which means that a person cannot be arrested for an act of self-defense. In many other states, self-defense laws only provide defense in court after a person is charged.

‘Immunity is a stronger protection than a defense,’ Dolak said. ‘It’s the reason the shooter has not yet been arrested because police believe, so far anyway, that he had a right to invoke a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law.’

Proving that Zimmerman did not act in self-defense would be difficult, she said, because there were no other witnesses and Florida police did not administer drug tests or collect adequate evidence after the shooting.

Dolak said many states have been expanding self-defense rights in recent years. The laws have been controversial even before Martin’s case, she said, and his case might be significant in stalling the trend because it has brought so much attention to the issue.

‘It might really be the game-changer in terms of these kinds of laws,’ she said.

But the lasting effect of Martin’s death remains unknown.

Ronald Taylor, a freshman political science and policy studies major who participated in the ‘Hoodies for Trayvon Martin’ rally and the ‘1,000 Campus Vigil for Trayvon,’ said he is concerned the outrage over Martin’s death will quickly lose momentum.

‘These larger movements are great, but what will become of them?’ he said. ‘I worry that this is just going to be a fad.’

But Taylor said the events held at SU in the past weeks were effective in ‘awakening’ students and challenging the complacency on campus. Ultimately, these movements might contribute to legislative change, he said.

Taylor said college students play an especially important role in protesting the circumstances of Martin’s death.

‘If you look at all major movements in America,’ he said, ‘they’ve been run by young people. The civil rights movement was a college student movement. The gay rights. All of them.’

Social media has also offered college students an organizational outlet they did not have in past movements. The ‘Hoodies for Trayvon Martin’ rally, Taylor said, was organized in one weekend through social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, and it had a positive turnout.

‘If you use these media in a way where you’re really pushing for something positive, people will react to it,’ Taylor said. ‘Especially now, in this century, it’s not going to be a televised revolution. It’s not going to be a march down Washington. It’s going to be a Facebook revolution.’

nagorny@syr.edu 

Published on April 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm