Smiley on Zimmerman Verdict: Evidence of Contempt This Nation Shows for Black Men

July 14th, 2013 2:21 PM

As NewsBusters has been reporting, the liberal media are out in force Sunday expressing their disgust with the George Zimmerman verdict.

On ABC's This Week, PBS's Tavis Smiley had the nerve to say, "I think this for many Americans, George, just another piece of evidence of the incontrovertible contempt that this nation often shows and displays for black men" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

TAVIS SMILEY: I think this for many Americans, George, just another piece of evidence of the incontrovertible contempt that this nation often shows and displays for black men.

In just a matter of weeks in this nation we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and that wonderful brilliant speech by Dr. King, "I Have a Dream." In that speech you will recall the one line that we all seem to know, not much else, but we know that one line. "I want my children to one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

George Zimmerman knew nothing of Trayvon Martin's character. All he saw was his color. Something is wrong in this nation. Fifty years after the March on Washington, while the Voting Rights Act is being gutted, speaking of the Justice Department, what they'll do about that perhaps, something is wrong when adults can racially profile children.

Trayvon Martin was a child, racially profiled and gunned down in...

(CROSSTALK)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: But that wasn't -- I mean, I think that is a big debate we're going to have...

SMILEY: It is.

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... but that wasn't the question in the courtroom, was it?

SMILEY: Well, I think what happens is, if you go to any barbershop, any beauty salon, even prior to the trial, and I don't have the scientific data to prove this, but I'm a black man, I live and work in a black community, I don't know that you can have gotten a majority of African-Americans who believed that this case was going to end differently anyway.

They were hoping against hope that something different might come out, George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: As a legal matter, could it have ended differently? Is there a different kind of case that prosecutors could have...

DAN ABRAMS: No. I mean, look, are there mistakes that the prosecutors made, in my opinion? Yes. Should they have introduced all of George Zimmerman's to show statements to show sort of minor inconsistencies as opposed to effectively forcing him to testify? Yes, that was a little mistake.

But the reality is it wouldn't have made a difference if he had been charged with manslaughter versus murder. Everyone is talking, well, maybe they overcharged here. Yes, they probably did, would it have made a difference? No.

With regard to the federal investigation, yes, there will be a federal investigation. They will publicly discuss it. And there will not be charges filed under -- the civil rights division will not file.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Because they can't win?


ABRAMS: Because they can't win in this case. They won't win, and they know that.

Now there are two separate questions here that we're discussing. And I think it's important to distinguish them. One is a sort of broad societal right and wrong, and what is wrong with our society? And that is a fair question to ask. But that is a different question than talking about what happened in that courtroom.

Because if you watch that trial every day the way that I did, you do lose the sort of big picture and you get very focused on the little picture...

SMILEY: But, Dan, respectfully, the problem is though that every time we get to that nexus, and I agree with you, there are two separate issues here, but every time we get to that nexus, we never seem to accept the fact that race in this country is real, that color will get you killed.

And every time we have one of these cases, and I believe in looking at a case-by-case situation, but here's the problem, in the aggregate, every time you have this issue, somebody can always explain away why this person got off, why this person was not found guilty, and what we have is a bunch of dead black men.

We have a black president.

We have a black attorney general,

We have a black Supreme Court justice.

One of the most revered athletes in the nation is a black golfer.

In fact, Americans worship and adore black athletes, movie stars, and musicians.

Yet Tavis Smiley has the gall to say on national television America shows contempt for black men.

And this race baitor has his own nationally televised program to spout such nonsense on almost a nightly basis.

What people such as him should realize is that it is they that are keeping racism alive in this nation, and that Martin Luther King Jr's dream will never come to fruition as long as they continue to fan the fires of racial discontent.

They should all be ashamed of themselves.