Pages

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Conservative Black Leaders Give their input on the Zimmerman Verdict...


Black Conservatives Analyze Aftermath of Zimmerman Case
Washington, D.C. - Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are analyzing the legal aspects of the George Zimmerman verdict and commenting on the implications:

Horace Cooper
Horace Cooper
"While I'm thrilled with this outcome, it should never have come to this. This case should never have been brought forward. The grand jury should never have been bypassed and Judge Nelson should never have allowed this case to get this far. There's a reason the investigating officer refused to support an arrest, there's a reason the state's attorney refused to prosecute and there's a reason the grand jury was bypassed. There was no substantial evidence corroborating the state's case and a whole heck of evidence supporting Mr. Zimmerman. The rush to arrest and indict Zimmerman merely to appease the media or race-based interest groups not only jeopardized Mr. Zimmerman's rights and liberty, but the precedent suggests that all of our rights could be infringed."

-Cooper, the co-chairman of Project 21, is a former law professor and former congressional leadership staff member.
Darryn
Darryn "Dutch" Martin
"It goes without saying that a 17-year-old child is dead, and this verdict - though just and correct in my view - will not bring him back. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. But it needs to be understood that the case against George Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin was not supposed to be about race. It was always about self-defense. Zimmerman's defense team proved this and the jury concurred. Justice has been served. Now, let's pray that cooler heads prevail."
-Martin, a member of Project 21, is a former member of the American diplomatic corps.


Lisa Fritsch
Lisa Fritsch
"Despite a not guilty verdict, we must remember that George Zimmerman is not truly free. This trial will forever remain in his mind for his remaining days. Our hope should be that this trial and verdict will unite the Florida community and this country and be a healing testimony to what happens when we think the worst of one another first. In this case, it felt as if our very country were on trial for racial prejudice. The not guilty verdict should make us reflect on what it means to give the benefit of the doubt before judging harshly and deciding one's actions are racially motivated. The final question for every community is how we can protect our youth from a system of violence and a lifestyle that nearly guarantees they will find trouble. Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin's family and more urban Americans will hopefully use this case and verdict as an opportunity to correct that system."

-Fritsch is a member of Project 21 as well as a tea party activist, author and talk radio host.
Hughey Newsome
Hughey Newsome
"Everything about the verdict can be wrapped up by considering the post-verdict comments of Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara. While many may feel that O'Mara's comment about charges not being filed against Zimmerman if Zimmerman were black may seem insensitive and oblivious, his subsequent comments about the need for a civil rights discussion in regards to African-American males are timely despite his feeling it is irrelevant to this case. Those saying the value placed on an African-American male is diminished in today's society must now ask themselves, if this is believed to be true, what is causing this phenomenon? So many in the media and entertainment industries seem to profit off perpetuating the image of the African-American male as violent and sexual animals, but this is then ignored in order to complain about overt racism that is mostly marginalized in today's society. This gets us no closer to solving the problem at hand."

-Newsome, a Project 21 member, is a financial expert and also the Washington representative for the Move-On-Up.Org black political organization.

Emery McClendon
Emery McClendon
"We must stop looking at issues from a racial context and stand together as one America - with God as our strength. To use a familiar phrase these days, let's not stay 'stuck on stupid' and move on to heal our land. We have so much to be thankful for. For too long, people such as the NAACP's Ben Jealous and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have spoke out in hate and ignorance and found placement in the media. It's time to stop the madness. We must turn the tide. If we put as much time into restoring our Constitution as we did into the Zimmerman trial, America would be a better place for all of us."

-McClendon is a Project 21 member and tea party activist.


Christopher Arps
Christopher Arps
"Six women, some of them mothers themselves, found George Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Although Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted, there are no winners in this tragic case. A teenager is deceased and a young man's family is mourning. George Zimmerman will never have a normal life again. I call for all sides to respect the verdict reached by a jury of Mr. Zimmerman's peers and honor Trayvon's memory by letting peace prevail in the streets."

- Christopher Arps is a managing partner of a digital media and political consulting firm and a co-founder of the black political networking website Move-On-Up.org.

Christopher Arps
Derryck Green
"To celebrate justice rendered in this case is not an admission or an articulation that Trayvon Martin deserved what happened to him that fateful night in February of 2012. As most will acknowledge, it's a sad and unfortunate thing that Martin lost his life and that his parents had to bury their son. The jury ruled – considering the evidence presented – rightly in my opinion. George Zimmerman is innocent of the filed charges against him. Despite the considerable emotion surrounding this case, justice has been served. It is not 'justice for Trayvon.' Nor it is 'justice for George.' It is simply justice."
- Derryck Green, a student, has a M.A. in Theological Studies and is currently pursuing his doctorate in ministry.

Coby Dillard
Coby Dillard
"The justice system did what it is supposed to do – get to the bottom of what happened. Agree or not, our system works. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, by his own admission. He has to live with that, and I believe God will judge him for that action. But the jury decided that action did not rise to the level of manslaughter or murder. I accept and respect that. We all should, whether or not we agree with it."

- Coby Dillard is a founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party in southern Virginia, a regular columnist for the Norfolk Virginian Pilot and a Navy veteran.

Demetrius Minor
Demetrius Minor
"George Zimmerman has been found not guilty. Regardless of how people feel about it, we must still show love and have compassion one for another."

- Demetrius Minor, a former White House intern, is an evangelist and motivational speaker.






Project 21 was formed in 1992 when the riots following the verdict in the Rodney King case revealed a need to highlight the diversity of opinion within the black community. For over 20 years, the volunteer members of the Project 21 black leadership network have provided conservative and free-market perspectives that, until that time, were largely unknown or ignored by the establishment media.

During the course of the Zimmerman trial, which was heard in the Seminole County (Florida) Circuit Court, Project 21 members provided commentary and continue to be available for interviews about the case and the issues surrounding it. Project 21 regularly issued press releases featuring quotes from its members on the breaking news about the trial and the controversies surrounding it.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives since 1992, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org).


No comments:

Post a Comment