George Zimmerman's acquittal for the killing of Trayvon Martin has left many unanswered questions. One of them is what will happen to the hoodie Martin wore the night of he and Zimmerman's fatal confrontation. The hoodie, much like O.J. Simpson's glove, has become an iconic piece of evidence. It's currently in the possession of the Justice Department, which is carrying out a civil rights investigation, but could it eventually find a home at the Smithsonian in D.C.?
If the decision were up to Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin's hoodie would definitely be kept at there. “I would like to see it preserved,” he told the Washington Post. Sharpton has called Martin this generation's Emmett Till and labeled his death what the Post calls "the first civil rights flash point of the 21st century." What's more, Sharpton believes the hoodie is so significant because the negatives associated with it (or specifically, minority youths in hoodies) are responsible for the profiling that led to Martin's death.
Shaprton would like to one day see Martin's hoodie on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Museum director Lonnie Bunch said this would present a chance to spark conversation about race. "It became the symbolic way to talk the Trayvon Martin case. It’s rare that you get one artifact that really becomes the symbol,” he said.
That symbol deserves to be on display permanently as a reminder of how far away we are from a perfect world.
[via Washington Post]
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