By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
The Trayvon Martin trial is a very controversial trial, and the teen’s slaying has been one that has pretty much brought racial tensions of the country back to the forefront. Martin was gunned down by George Zimmerman just moments after his call with friend Rachel Jeantel dropped. Rachel took the stand in order to give her accounts of what she heard before the call ended, and her words have become a huge target of criticism. To no surprise, most people are more fixated on the young woman’s speech and grammar than what she’s really talking about on the stand. And if the case itself wasn’t full of racial undertones enough, the remarks made about this young woman take the cake. One reporter even referred to her as “Precious” yesterday while giving an account of what she said in the courtroom.
This of course has made many people furious and R&B singer Fantasia Barrino is one of those angered by the criticism. She posted a meme in support of Rachel Jeantel and wrote in the caption:
Sad that an innocent young man lost his life at the hands of another man, and here it is someone doing what they can for justice and she’s being crucified. Worst part of it all, mostly by her own people. Please stop the hate people, I’ve dealt with this type of hate far too long, to the point I’m numb to it but this young lady deserves better than what we deal with as celebrities. She is doing a deed in support of justice for Trayvon, give her a little more respect. To make it easy, if you can’t say anything positive, don’t say anything at all. #justiceforTrayvon
Of course not everyone was happy with Fantasia’s supportive rant that called for unity in the black community, in fact some were outraged by it. One angry fan writes:
F*CK OUTTA HERE…IF YOUR IGNORANT YOUR IGNORANT…AND JUST BECAUSE SHE OF BLACK DON’T MEAN YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO ACT LIKE YOU DON’T HEAR OR SEE THE SH*T SHE SAY OR DO….AND SHE NOT TRYING TO DO NO GOOD DEED..H*LL SHE DON’T EVEN WANT TO BE THERE…SHE’S NOT HELPING THE PROSECUTION
Where do you stand? Leave your comments below.
This whole situation verifies what Miguel said about black people. #shrugs
Agreed.
Yes! I’m not a Fanny fan but I feel the same way! This young woman is doing a very hard thing. I don’t think she doesn’t care, I just think she’s scared as hell!
The funniest part is the fan calling Rachel ignorant doesn’t even know the difference between “you’re” and “your.” Oh the irony…
As soon as I read it I said the same thing.
How can you call out Rachel Jeantel when your grammar is atrocious too? LOL.
Thank you. That’s why I don’t take too much of the hate she received seriously. Most of the hateful people on the Internet are dumber than they THINK she is.
I have to ride with Fantasia on this one! Yes, I wasn’t happy with everything she did on the stand but I don’t think anyone of the black race should be tearing her down. We don’t know what it’s like to be in her shoes!
SMH. I feel the same way. We have got to stop dragging this young woman. We really don’t know her heart, but I would imagine she is feeling a lot of pressure.
LOL why don’t black people like to hear the truth? The truth is this young woman is not doing the prosecution any justice. And because of her and the rest of these weak “claims” made by the prosecution, Zimmerman’s fat a-s will walk for murdering an unarmed black teenage boy. Will you be politically correct then?
I wouldn’t say we don’t like to hear the truth. I think Fantasia’s point is we should stand together throughout this trial, especially since Trayvon was murdered because he was black.
Someone said it best on here yesterday. We shouldn’t tear down someone when we know we probably couldn’t do what they’re doing. How would any of us do if we were her? That’s something we have to ask ourselves. And just about anyone that’s had to be on the stand and testified has been tripped up to some point by both sides. That’s the point of cross examination. I think people are being too hard on her.
I understand exactly what Fantasia is saying some of the comments I read are ridiculous. I personally said she needed to get better I didn’t make fun of her or anything. I put most of the blame on the prosecution because to me they didn’t prep her enough. But the problem that I have with Fantasia is the same problem that I have with Miguel its not just BLACK PEOPLE criticizing her EVERYONE from every race just go to other websites and read comments it’s terrible. Stop just calling out black people when everyone regardless of race is the problem.
What made ME laugh just now is the fact that that fan could attack Fantasia’s comments and have so many grammatical errors. People should speak only when spoken to. Rachel did seem nervous, a little uneducated as far as articulating things properly, but she was a great witness and hopefully helpful to the case.
I agree with Fantasia 100%. People (especially the black community) shouldn’t be tearing this girl down. It is already hard enough that she lost her friend, but to have to get on the stand to relive the last time she spoke to Trayvonne. We should be looking at the bigger picture here and that is getting justice for Trayvonne and his family, but also for every other black male in this country because if we don’t incidents and senseless murders will continue to happen to our children. The only difference is it may be one of our brothers, uncle, or cousin. or even our son. Even if George Zimmerman is convicted it still doesn’t bring Trayvonne back, but it could lead to healing for his family first and foremost and the community. I just hope that justice is served.
I agree with Fantasia 100%. People (especially the black community) shouldn’t be tearing this girl down. It is already hard enough that she lost her friend, but to have to get on the stand to relive the last time she spoke to Trayvonne. We should be looking at the bigger picture here and that is getting justice for Trayvonne and his family, but also for every other black male in this country because if we don’t incidents and senseless murders like this will continue to happen to our children. The only difference is it may be one of our brothers, uncle, or cousin. or even our sons. Even if George Zimmerman is convicted it still doesn’t bring Trayvonne back, but it could lead to healing for his family first and foremost and the community. I just hope that justice is served