They Killed the Boy, But Kept Their Hats On
by BAR columnist Lizz
Brown
"These men knew that they
would not have to spend one day in jail."
It has nearly all of the makings of a snuff film -
exploitation, cruelty, violence and of course murder - a 60-minute video (view
it by clicking, below) that captures the first moments at Panama City, Florida,
boot camp and the last few minutes of life for 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson.
Most of us met lanky Martin only through the lens of that video camera. We were
not there to introduce ourselves as Martin's poor unconscious, adolescent body
was slapped against the concrete time and time again.
We were not there as guards walked away from Martin, dusting
off their hands as if it were the little bits of dirt picked up from his last
thrashings of life that deserved prompt and immediate attention. We were not
there to meet him - we could only get to know him after.
An introduction in absentia: how dreadful for us and how
deadly for Martin.
As we watch this video of men brutalizing a child, it is
striking how unmoved they appear. No
one seemed touched by Martin Lee's urgent and desperate actions. This child tried to explain, he begged, he
pleaded and not one of these super-sized men seemed interested.
"Young Martin begged, he
pleaded."
Eventually, Martin collapsed into
unconsciousness. And even then he
was unable to connect with those men.
They continued to stuff ammonia tablets down his throat to "Get Him Up!"
as if Martin's lifeless body was a liar and an act of defiance.
Why did they treat Martin Lee like that? Why, in the middle of a melee, were these
militarily dapper men, more successful in keeping their hats on than keeping a
child safe? Why? The answer is
revolting and yet simple. These men were able to keep their hats on because
they know America keeps her hat on, her bonnet straight, in the midst of acts
of raging racist lawlessness.
These men knew what America refuses to say - they knew that
they would not have to spend one day in jail, they knew that they would end up
with an all white jury and they knew that no jury of their peers would convict
them for killing a Black child in a boot camp. They knew.
A little over one year later, after deliberating for only 90
minutes and despite controversy, video tapes of the crimes, suffocation
conclusions by the coroner's office, multimillion dollar admissions of guilt
and protests, an all white jury kept their hats on and found
no one guilty of anything.
"Let us be honest about
the legacy of America."
They say that the Justice Department may charge the
defendants with civil rights violations and another trial will take place.
Maybe so. Perhaps they will get a conviction.
I hope so. But at the end of the day, let us be honest about the legacy
of America and what really happened to Martin Lee Anderson here in
America.
A little black boy was battered, assaulted and suffocated to
death by mostly white men in uniform.
His murder was captured on tape and seared into our minds. The first and
only charge directed to the State of Florida was to put someone in jail - for a
long time. An all white jury in Florida refused to rock the boat.
After all, they had to keep their hats on.
Lizz Brown is a veteran journalist, broadcaster, activist,
educator and attorney based in St. Louis. She can be contacted at lizzbrown@sbcglobal.net.
Ashoka Jegroo is a multimedia journalist who reports on protests and policing.
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