The Trayvon Martin case has caused a lot of controversy and debate across the country. Many feel strongly about their opinions regarding the case, however few voices are rising to offer any real insight into what this says about our communities or where do we go from here.
As a long-time resident of Lenoir County, I am alarmed by the fact that this case has received so much attention — even locally when I open our paper and see so many of our young people dying without the outrage I think they deserve.
I don’t mean to downplay the death of Trayvon, but one death does not outweigh the others. The issue as I see it in our country and in our community is that we do not value life correctly. We see some lives as more valuable than others and because there is not a consensus that ALL life is valuable, we can deemphasize some over others.
I am saddened to see our news covering the shooting of one more teen, the incarceration of another young person, or the death of yet one more human being in our community.
We rejoice over the narcotic arrests and I agree that they need to be stopped. However, we should all stop and think that behind that picture in the paper is someone’s son, daughter or grandchild.
At one point, that person was a child in our school system. At one point, that person had a chance and we failed to reach them before the drug dealers and life itself caught them and took them down the wrong path.
It is time for us to value our greatest commodity again — our children, our youth. Although I mourn the loss of Trayvon Martin — he, too, was born for a purpose — let us not forget the MANY young people in our own community that we are losing each and every day.
It is time for us to quit offering opinions unless we are willing to be part of the solution. May Lenoir County rise to the challenge of ending racial divides and care for our children and teens no matter what they look like or where they come from.
May we learn to come together in unity to help them toward a better future.
Sherri Ezzell is a pastor with GroundBreakers Ministries of Kinston. You can reach her at sherri@groundbreakersministries.net. The opinions of the guest columnist are not necessarily those of The Free Press.
To be a guest columnist,
The Free Press guest columnist feature publishes every other Wednesday. Would you like to be considered as a guest columnist? Contact Managing Editor Bryan Hanksat 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com.