While the George Zimmerman trial moved on to other witnesses, people are still talking about the dramatic cross-examination of the late Trayvon Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel. Stacy Swimp, a member of the Project 21 black leadership network, said the demeanor and language exhibited by Jeantel on the stand "was a clear manifestation of the cultural perversions that are normalized throughout many of our urban communities."
Swimp suggests that, rather than criticizing Jeantel's actions, Americans should be reaching out to urban communities to "promote spiritual revival" and help teach residents of the inner-city about things such as morals and fiscal literacy.
In the wake of Jeantel's testimony, the hop-hop web site Global Grind published an essay by Rachel Samara that praised Jeantel for being "unapologetically herself" and that the lawyers in the case (on both sides) "have an extreme disconnect from her reality." This disconnect implied that the usage of terms such as "creepy a-- cracker" toward Zimmerman were cultural and appropriate, as well as Jeantel's eye rolls and calling a line of questioning "retarded."
Project 21's Swimp understands the "disconnect" that Samara wrote about, but does not think it is something that should be accepted, much less praised. Instead, Swimp is appealing to conservatives to reach out to inner-city communities to help teach conservative values to areas he thinks are ripe for new perspectives.
Swimp says:

While watching the testimony of Rachel Jeantel during the Zimmerman trial, my heart broke. Despite my sadness, I was also angry. I am still angry because it would seem that someone brought this girl into the world and allowed her to grow up essentially without an education or manners. Someone had very low expectations for her. It was a clear manifestation of the cultural perversions that are normalized throughout many of our urban communities. I see this day in, day out where I live. When she said that the term "creepy a-- cracker," a term she said the late Trayvon Martin used to describe George Zimmerman, is not racial, she sounded very sincere and serious. This speaks to the low standards, as well as the low expectations that appear normal to her environment. To be so accepting of such a hateful and racial term, and to imply it is a normal part of the lexicon used by herself, her community and Trayvon Martin is regrettable. Ms. Jeantel's testimony and what it revealed really ought to give us a greater sense of urgency, as ministers of the gospel and as conservatives, to get into these communities to promote spiritual revival along with English, morals and constitutional and financial literacy. If we don't see very clearly from this young woman's behavior just how bad things can be, we just don't want to see it at all. I pray many of my conservative peers will motivated by what I saw to go and sign up to be mentors to young girls like Ms. Jeantel, to help them grown in literacy and personal dignity.

Project 21 was formed in 1992 when the riots following the verdict in the Rodney King case revealed a need to highlight the diversity of opinion within the black community. For over 20 years, the volunteer members of the Project 21 black leadership network have provided conservative and free-market perspectives that, until that time, were largely unknown or ignored by the establishment media.
During the course of the Zimmerman trial, which is being heard in the Seminole County (FL) Circuit Court, Project 21 members will provide commentary and be available for interviews about the case and the issues surrounding it. Project 21 will issue regular press releases featuring quotes from its members on the breaking news about the trial and any controversies surrounding it.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over two decades, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank established in 1982. Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated .

 

Contact: David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 or (703) 568-4727 or dalmasi@nationalcenter.org or Judy Kent at (703) 759-7476 or jkent@nationalcenter.org

 

 

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