Deep Roots and Family Trees: The Trayvon Martin Story Hits Home ...

By Cheri Rae

A bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea will never look the same?not since the news of the tragic loss of Trayvon Martin?s life. The African-American young man may just have well been my brother-in-law, my nephew, my cousin who know all-too-well the dangers of simply walking the street or driving the car, and considered suspicious for the color of their skin and the style of their hair and the clothes they wear.

When my sister married an African-American man, decades ago, it sent shock waves throughout my mostly conservative family, rooted in the Catholic Church on one side and the Southern Baptist on the other.

No one in the Sicilian immigrant families that arranged my grandparents? marriage ever imagined that the family tree would branch out and join up with another race (somewhat ironic, since Sicily has been a crossroads of civilizations for centuries). They?and the rest of the family elders?were mortified, embarrassed and unwilling to accept their granddaughter?s, their daughter?s, choice for a husband, or the children of that union.

No amount of talk, appealing to the heart or the head could change the minds of the older generations, and the family was split?deeply and painfully?with consequences that continue to this day.

So the news of what happened to Trayvon Martin feels hideously familiar, since I have witnessed the kind of fear, mistrust and de-humanized view of ?others? right within my own family?a family which has been fraught with racial tension that began years ago over a couple of idealistic young lovers who had no idea of what their union would set in motion.

Ugly old prejudices, stereotypes and deeply held beliefs have resulted in deeply felt hurt and humiliation, flowing through generations. Grandchildren have been raised without knowing their grandparents, and grandparents who have never known their grandchildren or even their great-grandchildren. Relationships squandered, special moments never witnessed, years passed with no acknowledgement?only the painful knowledge that one side of the family was not welcome by the other. And it?s all about race.

If a single family cannot be reconciled over this issue over this much time, how can a nation?

In the smiling photo of Trayvon I see the same intelligent eyes and hopeful smile that I see in my 23-year-old nephew Brandon, and in Valentino, the 10-year-old son of my niece. And I worry for their safety, just as their own mothers do.

Just as Trayvon?s mother did before the unthinkable happened to her boy. The horrific act and aftermath may just have been the tipping point that changes everything and makes everyone say, ?Enough!? and mean it this time.

The outrage expressed across the country at this moment offers hope that our American stew someday will actually warm into that promising proverbial melting pot, allowing an honest sit-down at the table for meaningful discussion about our racial divide.

In the mail this week came the wedding invitation from my cousin?s daughter who served in Iraq along with her now-fiance, who is still a member of the U.S. Army. The half-Sicilian, half-African American bride is marrying a fine young man with Cambodian roots and a 13-letter name so unpronounceable we call him T.

Some of us in the family will attend the joyful event and wish the couple well. Some will not. As this American family tree branches out in yet another direction, we have a fresh opportunity to get it right?at home and across the country. God willing, we will seize the moment this time.

About Cheri Rae

Cheri Rae is the senior editor and columnist. Known for her civic activism and insightful chronicles of the local scene, Cheri has a hard-won reputation for writing about issues that other Santa Barbara-based writers are reluctant to tackle. Cheri shared her unique citizen?s eye view of the region as a columnist for the Santa Barbara Daily Sound. In 2009, her work was recognized by the California Newspaper Publishers Association, which awarded her first-place honors in the Best Newspaper Column category.

Source: http://www.santabarbaraview.com/deep-roots-and-family-trees-the-trayvon-martin-story-hits-home6563/

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