Free Republic

Northampton Community College students debating the merits of so-called stand-your-ground laws were so convincing, audience members seemed to forget the teams had flipped a coin to decide which position they'd take. Members of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and the college's Student Senate tackled the thorny issue Thursday as part of the college's celebration of Black History Month. The three students on the honor society team were deemed the victors by a panel of three judges. But as the judges deliberated in the hallway, the teams took audience questions and also were corrected a few times. Professor Vertel Martin...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Two years and a day after their son’s death, the parents of Trayvon Martin visited the White House on Thursday and were in the audience as President Obama announced a new initiative designed to keep young minority men on the right path. The president mentioned Trayvon’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, during his speech, drawing applause from a crowd gathered in the East Room of the White House. The man who shot and killed Trayvon, George Zimmerman, was found not guilty of murder in a Florida trial last year. The prosecution contended that Mr. Zimmerman singled out Trayvon because...

Vigils are being planned across the country to mark the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — a case that has stoked racial tensions and questioned Florida’s “stand your ground” laws for the past two years. Rallies are being held in major cities across the country, and many participants are being asked to wear hoodies in solidarity with the slain teen.

Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old whose fatal shooting by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida set off a racial firestorm, will speak at UConn on Feb. 28, at 6 p.m., in the Student Union Ballroom.

College to award annual Trayvon Martin Award for Social Justice Jordan-Zachery wants to make sure the award effectively serves as a “memory of victims of racism and other forms of oppression in the United States.” The Providence College Black Studies Program e-mailed students, faculty, and administrators Tuesday to renew an award called the Trayvon Martin Award for Social Justice.

<p>Declaring that “Florida cannot defend black life against white fear,” Brittney Cooper, a liberal, race-baiting, African American writer for Salon.com, has made the not-so-subtle suggestion that perhaps it’s time for black folks to react with violence when a court of law doesn’t rule to their satisfaction.</p>

One loopy, arrogant CNN host castigating the most loopy, arrogant CNN host, and using the American Revolution to do it? You know you gotta be bringing the quality ruckus when Van Jones and Ben Ferguson, the purported partisans in this fight, are just sitting back and chuckling at you. Oh, my. Why? Because you deserve it. And, it may be the only time you ever side with Nancy Grace.(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

Let’s play a game. It’s called: “Who’s the Thug?” It’s the day after Thanksgiving 2012, and four teenagers are sitting in a Dodge Durango outside a convenience store in Jacksonville, Fla. The Durango is red, which is unimportant. The teenagers are black, which is important. The teenagers are planning to try to pick up some girls later in the evening and have stopped for some gum — “so our breath would smell good,” one will later testify — and cigarettes. The teenagers are playing loud music in the Durango. A car pulls up next to the Durango, parking very close...

George Zimmerman has fleed Miami after being chased by a crowd and told there is a $10,000 bounty on his head. He abandoned his home with his family moments after a TV interview with CNN the next morning. Zimmerman, 30, appeared on CNN on Monday to accuse President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder of making him a 'scapegoat'. It has emerged his words came hours after infuriated protesters ambushed him, his girlfriend and her son on the beach. Speaking on national television to Chris Cuomo, he revealed he still receives death threats seven months after he was acquitted...

Independently verifiable justifiable use of deadly force versus an incredible unsupported story.The Zimmerman and Dunn cases have been lumped together by many commentators, but the cases had almost nothing in common. Based on the evidence presented in court, the Zimmerman jury got it right. Based on the evidence presented in court, the Dunn jury got the murder count wrong in deadlocking — although until they speak, we can’t know why. Zimmerman’s explanation for the use of deadly force was consistent with eyewitnesses, medical evidence, ballistics, and the forensic evidence. Dunn’s explanation for the use of deadly force lacked credibility, had...

A crisis in white masculinity is killing black teenagers and, history says, the violence is likely to continue. Why are so many white men like Michael Dunn angry? Dunn, the man found guilty Saturday on three counts of attempted second-degree murder for shooting into a car full of black teenagers at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station after an argument over loud rap music—but not convicted of the murder of Jordan Davis, the 17-year-old slain in the incident—provides some answers. Like Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, Dunn’s case represents the rage felt by many angry white men in America. During his...

George Zimmerman on Monday accused President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder of making a “scapegoat” of him but that he does not know why they would do so. In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Zimmerman said he believes that in his trial for the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin he faced a “miscarriage of justice,” and he described himself as a “scapegoat.” “A scapegoat for [what]?” Cuomo asked. “The government, the president, the attorney general,” responded Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the trial. “I don’t know what they’re thinking or why they’re thinking it, all I...

Below is the English translation of Univision’s interview with George Zimmerman . Following the English translation, please find the Spanish transcript of the interview. If you have any questions, please contact josezamora@univision.net

And now, the man who once aspired to become a police officer tells CNN he's hoping to go back to school and pursue a career as a lawyer "to stop the miscarriage of justice." During his interview with CNN, Zimmerman's girlfriend and her young daughter wouldn't leave his side. In an interview that aired on the Spanish-language Univision network Sunday, Zimmerman said he was unemployed, had a personal debt of $2.5 million and wasn't receiving any government benefits.

George Zimmerman says his problems continue. He told a Spanish language television station he is now homeless, battling post-traumatic stress disorder, more than $2 million in debt and lives in fear for his life. Zimmerman opened up on the Univision television show "Aquí y Ahora" (Here and Now) that will air Sunday on the Spanish language station at 7 p.m. Zimmerman also discussed his well-known struggle with 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an African-American teen who was walking in Zimmerman's neighborhood in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012. After he called the cops, the two got into a fight that ended with...

An unlikely celebrity will make a television appearance at the NBA All-Star Game this weekend: President Barack Obama. The commander-in-chief sat for an interview Thursday with NBA legend Charles Barkley, Politico reports. The interview with Obama, a noted basketball fan and longtime Chicago Bulls devotee, will air at half-time Sunday evening on TNT. The cable network tweeted a brief teaser of the president plugging the game and TNT. ---snip--- The substance of Obama's interview has not been made public but there's speculation that Barkley — known for making provocative political commentary on air — may have veered into politics. While...

In case you missed it, celebrity fight promoter Damon Feldman recently set up another of these pay per view boxing events between George Zimmerman and DMX (who is apparently a musician fallen on hard times). These celebrity boxing events are not a new thing. TheyÂ’ve been held before, featuring various B list actors, failed childhood stars and other media figures. Danny Bonaduce went through a lot of this as an adult when his career fizzled after the Partridge Family years. But back to ZimmermanÂ… The proceeds from the show were slated to go to charity. But there is still a...

A celebrity boxing match involving George Zimmerman has been called off. […] Damon Feldman, the owner of Celebrity Boxing, said Zimmerman was the wrong person to put in the ring and define celebrity boxing, because he’d rather “make people happy.” …

<p>It seems like a lot of people are eager to throw a punch at George Zimmerman.</p> <p>At least, that's how Celebrity Boxing owner Damon Feldman made it sound when he told CNN that, within an hour of opening applications to challenge Zimmerman, he had more than 8,000 people eager to share the ring.</p>

...celebrity boxing promoter Damon Feldman says he got Zimmerman to agree to engage in a celebrity boxing match for charity. However Sharpton, the civil rights activist and leader of the National Action Network, is warning people against being quick to label Zimmerman a celebrity. "We must be very careful not to glorify or in any way sidestep the implications of making someone whose only claim to fame was killing an unarmed young man named Trayvon Martin into a cultural celebrity or hero," Sharpton told CNN. "It is perfectly legal for him to exploit his fame but we should never forget...