Justice for Jordan Davis

On November 23, 2012, Michael Dunn, a caucasian male, pulled into a gas station in Jacksonville, FL where he recklessly opened fire on four teens in an SUV due to the high volume of their music, resulting in the death of the 17-year-old African-American Jordan Davis. Although there has been no final decision, the 47-year-old Dunn is looking at a minimum sentence of 20 years. Meanwhile, his parents are determined to continue fighting for justice to the murder of their beloved son.

Many might argue over the parallelisms with the Zimmerman trial who was acquitted for the murder of Trayvon Martin. However, there was a physical confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin and police gave him benefit of the doubt that he was simply defending himself. This proves that perhaps the Zimmerman and Dunn cases aren’t so similar.

We, the Beachcomber interviewed Damneet Kaur, senior at Mission Bay, her opinion regarding the case and how it affects society, “This is another example of how racism in America doesn’t change. The results of the case are proof that our society portrays people of color as a danger but due to the witnesses they found it justifiable to put Michael Dunn in jail. I believe that this trial isn’t just about Jordan Davis, it’s about history repeating itself. It’s about James Chaney, Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, athletes like Richard Sherman and even our own President. Unlike Martin who was guilty of not being different to a stranger with no legal authority who stalked him and killed him, Sherman, a Stanford graduate, was seen as a ‘thug’ because he celebrated after a football game. Just as President Obama who has faced birtherism and disrespect for not being compliant in the eyes of Republican Party’s white identity politics. African-American communities have been destroyed because of the very idea of black success is somehow ‘offensive.’ That’s why we are constantly reminded that Obama is black and that is his major offense. For black men and women to reach such high achievements is crazy and that derives the Prison Industrial Complex. This makes me question the safety of black and brown boys.”

The Beachcomber also interviewed Itzel Martinez, senior at Mission Bay, about her views on the case, “I think this affects today’s society but especially those of color. I believe that one of the causes is based on the thirst for imperialism which is embedded in this culture and causes citizens to react racist towards each other. Discrimination needs to end in all aspects, most importantly in the federal system. Our system lacks in support for the middle-class people, I think that by providing aid to these groups they will be able to have the resources necessary to grow economically. This trial not only impacts the Davis family but also other families who went through a similar situation and all the people of color as well. It also demonstrates how President Obama is not doing what he promised which is to protect the rights that we all deserve, despite the many shades of skin color.”

Alas, we wanted to know what both ladies would suggest others can do to achieve justice for Jordan Davis, Ms. Kaur stated, “I think is it important to inform other of situations like these to help defend all people of color and prevent such tragedies because just as Rev. Dave Dennis said at the funeral of James Chaney, “I don’t want to go to another memorial. I’m tired of funerals. We’ve got to stand up!”

Ms. Martinez started, “One of the things we can accomplish within our school is to stop being so racist and judgemental towards each other, we shouldn’t be putting each other down for being different. We need to help one another and then we will be able to move forward and become better people overall. This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes which is, ‘The world will know peace when the power of love overcomes the love of power.’”

Here at Mission Bay High School we have a diverse pool of students with different point of views and ideals. However, we thank these two wonderful young ladies for sharing their thoughts and beliefs. Perhaps one day they can achieve their dreams of helping to create a nation free from injustices and inequalities.