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John Minchillo / AP
New York City Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, of Brooklyn, speaks at a rally in New York for Trayvon Martin on Wednesday.
The fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a community crime-watch volunteer in a Florida suburb raises an uneasy question: Would he have been killed had he not been young, black and wearing a hoodie?
Most decidedly not, say some interested observers.
“This kid happened to have fallen into a wrong shade of black, and coupled with the fact that he was hooded made it more problematic,” said Jason J. Campbell, a blogger and an assistant professor of conflict resolution and philosophy at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“There’s a sense that this child was naive in the way he conducted himself (by wearing a hoodie). Unfortunately, African American males cannot conduct themselves in the same way that young white males can,” Campbell, who is black, told msnbc.com.
“It’s because society has said that a young black male dressed in this manner is up to no good,” Allie Braswell, CEO of the Central Florida Urban League, told msnbc.com. “Some of this is self-inflicted by dressing style, but it doesn’t mean every kid who puts a hoodie on is up to no good.”
Bill Lee, chief of police in Sanford, Florida, announces that he will be temporarily stepping down from his position as the investigation into the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is conducted.
Michael Skolnik, editor in chief of GlobalGrind.com, a site about the “hip” side of pop culture, wrote that he would never have met the same fate as Trayvon Martin, because he is white. “Even if I have a black hoodie, a pair of jeans and white sneakers on ... in fact, that is what I wore yesterday ... I still will never look suspicious. No matter how much the hoodie covers my face or how baggy my jeans are, I will never look out of place to you,” he wrote. “I will never look suspicious to you, because of one thing and one thing only. The color of my skin."
The now-ubiquitous garment was at the center of a "Million Hoodie March" in New York City on Wednesday. Hundreds of people, many cloaked in hoodies, marched to demand justice for the dead teen.
Hoodies, or hooded sweatshirts, have been around in the U.S. since the 1930s, first produced by Champion for laborers to wear in the freezing warehouses of New York.
Hip-hop artists popularized the hoodie as a rather sinister garment in the 1970s.
According to a 2006 article in The New York Times:
Goldie Taylor and Mark Thompson discuss the significance of their hoodies in showing solidarity for Trayvon Martin.
The sweatshirt hood can work much like a cobra hood, put up to intimidate others. But even more important is its ability to create a shroud of anonymity. This came in handy for at least two types of people operating in hip-hop’s urban breeding ground: graffiti writers and so-called stick-up kids, or muggers. Wearing a hoodie meant you were keeping a low profile, and perhaps up to something illegal.
By the 1990s, as hip-hop’s popularity spread, big-name clothing designers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren included the hoodie as a primary component of their collections.
Campbell says black teens often wear hoodies for two reasons: to remain obscure and undetected, or to project a “don’t mess with me” image.
“The problem is, we as a society don’t have access to the motivations of the person wearing the hood,” Campbell says.
theGrio: Black youth react to the Trayvon Martin tragedy
Sanford, the Orlando suburb where the shooting took place, has a population of 53,000. It is 57 percent white and 30 percent black.
Trayvon Martin, who according to media reports stood 6-foot-3 and weighed a mere 140 pounds, may have not wanted to stand out, Campbell surmises.
Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post wrote an article on the dangers young African-American men face. Capehart shares some of the issues he faced growing up in New Jersey.
“It’s almost like the Harry Potter cloak – you think you put on a cloak and you disappear,” Campbell said.
“Young African American males in a public sphere almost exclusively want to be left alone.”
School tells kids: Dress in 'African American attire'
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, a child advocacy group, says black parents often have to have “the talk” with their sons about how to walk, what to say and how to act in public. She writes in in a Black Star News column titled “Trayvon: Murdered for walking while black”:
“At the time Trayvon was walking home from the nearby 7-11 carrying a bottle of Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles for his younger stepbrother, leaving many people to guess that the main thing he was doing that made him look 'no good' was wearing a hooded sweatshirt in the rain and walking while Black. George Zimmerman’s decisions made that suspicious enough to be a death sentence.”
Zimmerman, who told police he acted in self-defense, has not been arrested or charged. He was descrbed in the police report as white; his family says he is Hispanic. A grand jury will convene to look into the case.
Join the discussion on msnbc.com’s main Facebook page or on msnbc.com’s US News page
On Facebook, hundreds of msnbc.com followers weighed in on the issue.
“The fact is, young black men have created a stereotype, and until they break that stereotype by human behavior, you will be treated accordingly,” wrote Jerry Warren Sr. “Do I think that all blacks deserve that picture that has been painted of them? Of course not. But as long as a percentage of a population behaves like lawless animals, they will drag you down to their level. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and these wannabe gangsters are your weak link.”
“Have u ever been stopped, & searched by the police, because of what u had on? I didn't think so!! Its reality!!” wrote David E. Jones of Lumberton, N.C., who is black. “I've been detained & searched, because of what was wearing more times than I can remember!! If it’s just ‘a fashion,’ why is an innocent kid dead??"
Braswell, of the Central Florida Urban League, says he constantly worries about how his 16- and 20-year-old sons are perceived “based on the attire they choose to wear.”
“I tell them they need to dress to be able to be in any environment. While they do wear jeans and hooded sweatshirts, they do wear them in style that’s acceptable by a general population,” Braswell says.
“They tell me back that I should not be judged by clothing I wear, I should be judged by who I am.”
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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I am concerned about any race walking behind me wearing a hoodie. White teens scare me because you never know they just may want to shoot up a school and anyone they come in contact with. Black teens scare me you never know what they want. Mexican teens scare me for the same reasons that black and white teens scare me. Just because Martin was wearing a hoodie does not mean he was a threat he was just walking home and because Zimmerman forgot that his community did have some blacks he decided to make sure this one did not stay.
Columbia, SC...7 blacks beat up a 17 year old white kid... Seneca, SC 6 blacks beat a 30 year old white man. I guess George should have called 5 friends and just beat and kicked Travis into comatose. Maybe Jesse, Al aqnd all their faithful followers wouldn't be so upset. They have never jumped on the bandwagon for these two hate crimes. OH, wait color is the only issue here...isn't it? Let the facts speak for themselves. We have witnesses and a sworn statement; evidence, and a new prosecutor, who is obviously hellbent on conviction for something. She will find a way. Now let's be just as harsh in these other cases. All of them are vigilanties and thugs. Pants on the ground, hoodie on my head, no damn wonder, I ended up dead.
Like I said........the very race profitting most by screaming "racism" the loudest, are the blacks, who hide behind this farce while perpetrating the very same racist crime against the "evil white man" all in the name of justice for their people. Quit using your race as a crutch for your own actions!
"Is young, black, and wearing a hoodie dangerous?" I don't know - "Is being white, wearing appropriate clothing and walking throught the projects dangerous?" Martin wanted to project an image in a neighborhood where that image is not wanted. How would the residents in an all black neighborhood feel if a white man was wearing Doc Martin boots laced up with red laces, red suspenders over a white short sleeve shirt, a black aviator's jacket and a clean shaven head? Does that wearing that mean that the white man is a racist skin-head? Maybe he's not or maybe he is, but regardless, that attire isn't appropriate in a prodominately black neighborhood. So get over it. Martin was stupid for what he wore and how he acted, just as Zimmerman was stupid for going past his legal authority as a neighborhood watchman. But oh how this makes such good propaganda for the black racists against the evil white man. Get a clue, Zimmerman isn't any more white than Martin was. Quit blaming some other race for your own ineptitude in life. The very people who scream racism are the ones profitting most by its continuation - the blacks.
Zimerman was clearly attacked. The KID was 6 foot 3 inches tall, hardly a kid. I wear a hoodie most of the time. I dont walk in a gated areas behind other people houses. This was not a public area. The only people witness the event said that Zimerman was on the ground and being beaten. I lived in Houston as a young boy and knew one thing for dead sure. If you went to a black area of town and walked around it would not take long to find your self beaten and robed if not dead. If you smart a@@ es think this is bull sh1$ take you sheltered self down there in that part of town that you know you should not be at after dark and just hang around. Not only will you see how these defencless young men will beat and rob you before it is done you will be the one praying that you have a gun. I have been repeatdly beaten by groups of between 4 to 8 young defenceless boys and the whole time i was praying i had a gun.
A BUNCH OF YOU ON HERE ARE IDIOTS! How can the clothing be to blame??? and what's all this about blaming it on rap? Has anyone stop to even think that the hoodie is a very resourceful article of clothing? 1)Hoodies are cheaper than coats - this is a great factor for middle-income and lower income kids because it can help turn a fall jacket into winter coat and lets not forget hoodies are ok to protect you in the rain as it was raining when this young man was murdered! 2)What if black rappers and gangsters start wearing suits tomorrow....Does this now mean that young black men will no longer be able to wear suits for fear of being confused with a gangster? The only thing that has changed since the 60's is that people are afraid to be their racists selves, so nowadays they just try to find some other factor to blame for when their racism is exposed...This like those ordinances that they have in certain cities that make it an offense to wear a white t-shirt because its considered to be gang paraphenalia or something....ALL BS! Because the law will only be enforced against young black males....Land of the free? NOT YET!!!!
Do a little research. Look in the prison system, the juvenile detention system and the last chance high schools. What do you see? Now take a look at the U.S. demographics...what percentage of America is made up of minorities versus the percentage incarcerated?
HHMMM....
It is a tragedy that this young man was shot and killed but ANY young person of ANY race wearing a hoodie and wearing sagging pants with more underwear showing than bluejeans IS going to be looked at with suspicion.
Perhaps not just being young, black, and wearing a hoodie, but also then attacking someone simply for following you is DEFINATELY a recipe for disaster.