George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty in Death of Trayvon Martin

These are links I found helpful in processing this story tonight.

Legal stuff from Slate and The Atlantic.

A pastoral letter from ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, from March 2012, along with a letter he signed along with other denominational leaders from Churches Uniting in Christ (.pdf).

Michael Skolnick has been a must-follow on Twitter on this and other hot-button topics.

Cord Jefferson on what it means to be a young black man in America.

Pastor Steve Jerbi of All Peoples Church in Milwaukee, with a great reflection on privilege, very helpful in my context.



My Twitter feed from tonight has more, scattered though it is.

I'll add Rev. Nadia Bolz Weber's lament, and probably add more in the future.

Roxane Gay in Salon.

Ta-Nehisi Coates, my go-to guy. And his even-better follow-up.

Jelani Cobb, TNC's go-to guy.

A solid entry from Jim Wallis.

A response from the Florida Council of Churches, an organization that has been quite active in this matter, and whose director Rev. Russell Meyer is one of my co-board members in the European American Lutheran Association.

My own sermon from Sunday 7/14/2013, flawed but appreciated by many in the congregation (according to their comments, anyway). A couple of people did say they took issue with some of my thoughts, so hopefully we can have more conversation.

Anthea Butler: "The Zimmerman Acquittal: America's Racist God" 

Wil Gafney: "Don't Ask Me How I Am."

Shared by a colleague, Matthew Martin Nickoloff says, #IAMGEORGEZIMMERMAN. He cites this piece by Matthew Simmermon-Gomes as required background reading. 

Rev. Ken Wheeler shares his perspective as the parent of African-American men. Bonus: the textbook example of white privilege in the comments, as some white guy makes himself out to be the victim of Ken's vicious attack. 

From another angle, Will Wilkinson offers a version of the argument I've heard from a lawyer friend that Zimmerman was over-charged and over-prosecuted, a common problem that disproportionally affects African-Americans.