“N-Word vs. Cracker: Which Is Worse?”
That was the tagline of a recent panel discussion on CNN that caused much backlash for the network.
Similar discussions have made their way into the homes and classrooms of Americans due to the race-centered stories that have dominated the media recently.
While discussions of race make many people uncomfortable, it is important to keep the dialogue going in order for our society to grow and learn from its mistakes.
One of the recent top stories that captured America’s attention was of Trayvon Martin.
Martin was a 17-year-old African-American boy who was shot and killed while walking from a convenience store to his home in Sanford, Florida in February 2012.
The killer was then 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a Caucasian and Hispanic man who says that he acted in self-defense.
Zimmerman was Neighborhood Watch Captain at the time and was studying to be a police officer. Despite the fact he was not on duty that night, he grew suspicious when he saw Martin walking alone after dark.
In audio released from Zimmerman’s call to authorities, he was told not to follow Martin, but did so anyway.
After losing Martin in the dark, Zimmerman said he began to return to his car when Martin approached him from behind and confronted him.
The confrontation then grew physical, according to Zimmerman, which lead to him fearing for his life and pulling out his gun to shoot Martin.
In the past year, Trayvon Martin has been one of the top stories on local and cable news, and Twitter, the news platform disguised as a social network.
The case even became the first story to be featured more than the 2012 Presidential election according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Raymond Diamond, LSU law professor who specializes in race, legal history, and the 2nd Amendment, says the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman story had the perfect ingredients to make national news.
“To many, the image is chilling that Zimmerman was a modern day nightrider — much like the slave patrollers in the antebellum South who patrolled the roads and interrogated and disciplined slaves who did not have a pass — helping to keep black people in their place,” Diamond said. “Whether this would be proven to the satisfaction of a jury was a matter of high national interest, which in turn was the vehicle to sell advertising on every cable news channel you can imagine.” 
The media has been criticized for painting a skewed picture of the altercation when presenting the story to its viewers by showing years-old pictures of a baby-faced Trayvon Martin and pictures of Zimmerman that show him to be more muscular.
Photojournalist and Poynter academic Kenny Irby commented on the media’s approach.
“When you have such a lopsided visual comparison, it just stands to reason that people would rush to judgment,” Irby said to The Associated Press.
As the story gained leverage, our generation found its first major racially driven story. This wasn’t something being read from a history book, it was happening live on our TV screens. Trayvon Martin began to represent young African-American males all over the country and the tendency for them to be racially profiled.
During the two weeks of court proceedings that began on June 24, millions of Americans tuned in each day to watch the countless testimonies. On July 13, Zimmerman was acquitted of the second degree murder charges that were brought against him by the state of Florida.
The “not guilty” verdict fueled outrage leading to rallies and riots across the country.
The Department of Justice has seized evidence from the case and is investigating whether or not Zimmerman should be charged with violating the civil rights of Martin.
Diamond adds that it is difficult to say whether or not the Department of Justice will actually have a civil rights case against Zimmerman.
“Even though this case was conducted live on twenty-four hour news channels, we don’t know all the facts,” Diamond said. “Prosecutors examining this case will want to determine whether they can match the facts as they would anticipate proving them with each and every element of the crime charged.”
On Friday, the film “Fruitvale Station,” starring Michael B. Jordan, will be released across the country. The film follows the story of Oscar Grant III, an African American man who was shot and killed by police at a San Francisco train station on New Year’s Day in 2009.
Despite the fact that Grant was unarmed, a police officer alleged that he resisted arrest and decided to shoot him.
The officer was later charged with involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison and is now on parole.
The film’s release comes at a time when tensions are high in our country when it comes to race and how it is handled in the media.
Moving forward, it is important that the media continues these difficult discussions in order for the people of our nation to grow and learn from each other.
Aggi Ashagre is a 20-year-old psychology sophomore from Baton Rouge.