The Trayvon Martin Case
When did George Zimmerman shoot Trayvon Martin?
February 26, 2012
What is Folk Theory?
Book definition: an explanatory framework adopted by a society to provide everyday understandings of the world
What is Critical Race Theory?
A theoretical framework used to examine society and culture as they relate to categorizations of race, law, and power.
Which news source interviewed Zimmerman?
Fox News
Where did the shooting take place?
Florida, when Trayvon was visiting his father
How Folk Theory relates to identity?
People have presumptions about different groups of people that are central to their perception of the world
What does Critical Race Theory aim to do?
Aims to expose the hidden assumptions in the discourse on race in the US that prevents more productive dialogue about the subject
How did the media frame the Trayvon Martin case?
Rather than facilitating an informed discussion of hate crime, the media focused on a hunt for racists.
Why did Zimmerman shoot Martin?
He saw him walking home through the neighborhood and thought he was a suspicious person, he then reported him to the police
How Folk Theory is different from Critical Race Theory?
Folk theory starts with presumptions about people in a society which frames people's views about certain groups of people, frames people as racist or non-racist
How do Critical Race Theory and Folk Theory relate?
In critical race theory, people agree on certain ways to divide people into groups and this process is supported by rules in folk theory for how to sort these groups
What other cases are similar to Trayvon Martins?
Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, Dante Parker, Tanisha Anderson, Akai Gurley, Jerame Reid, Eric Harris
TRUE OR FALSE: Zimmerman followed the police instructions after calling 911
FALSE, the police told Zimmerman to remain in his car and not to approach the person. Zimmerman disregarded the instructions, moments later neighbors reported hearing gunfire.
What is erasure and how does it relate to Folk Theory?
Erasure is the process that makes contradictory evidence invisible through forms of forgetting, denying, ignoring, or forcibly eliminating those distinctions
How are critical race theory and folk theory different?
Critical race theory points out that dividing people into categories is a social construct while folk theory assumes racial differences are biological
What discursive work did CNN's Anderson Cooper do before playing the 911 recording of Zimmerman saying a racist slur?
precontextualization which is when words are previewed and evaluated before they are spoken and recontextualization where words are replayed with varying degrees of reinterpretation
What was the outcome of the case?
In February of 2015, Zimmerman is acquitted of all charges brought against him.
What are the downfalls of Folk Theory?
Folk theory is a good model for understanding the world, made possible by a great deal of work and intellectual energy, but it lacks the accuracy of academic theories.
How do critical race theory and identity relate?
attends to the various components that shape individual identity, offers ways to understand how race interacts with other identities like gender and class
Which news source was the most biased?
Any answer is good :)