by Qudsia Jafree YWCA USA It was nauseating to watch. A clip of a plane crashing into a tall building looped on the television in front of me, over and over again. It was my first year of college, and I was standing in the dining hall for breakfast, frozen, no longer hungry. I called my… Continue Reading Take a Stand Against Hate Crimes
by Erica Thurman YWCA McLean County (Ill.) “Excuse me young man, are you lost?” It may have been just that simple. Seven words may have made all the difference in the world to the family of Trayvon Martin. As the nation — and much of the world — looks for answers, it may be more… Continue Reading We Are George Zimmerman
by Mary Semela Director of Development, YWCA USA I am a white parent of young African-American men. Every parent of these young men in the United States either has a memory of “the talk” with their children, or is anticipating it with a depth of sadness I can’t even begin to explain. How do you… Continue Reading When Life Isn’t Fair: A Mother’s Perspective on the Trayvon Martin Case
by Eileen Maloney-Simon CEO, YWCA Miami-Dade County Once again we find ourselves saddened, outraged, and questioning how a child can be killed at the hands of an adult. Once again we find ourselves asking how this can happen, why did this happen, and how can we protect our children and guarantee them our country’s promise… Continue Reading Stand Against Racism for Trayvon Martin
by Lenice C. Emanuel CEO, YWCA Tampa Bay On February 26, in Sanford, Fla., Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, is believed to have been killed because of racial profiling. It is of little significance that the alleged perpetrator, George Zimmerman, considers himself a minority. It does, however, poignantly underscore the powerful and systemic implications of… Continue Reading Trayvon Martin: A Victim of Institutional Racism