Editor’s Note: Robert Zimmerman Jr. wrote an open letter to GlobalGrind’s editor-in-chief, Michael Skolnik last week. This is his response.
Dear Robert Zimmerman Jr.,
I received your open letter to me on Friday evening after our telephone conversation earlier in the day. As I mentioned to you on the phone, I can certainly respect your desire to protect your brother, George Zimmerman. After all, you are your brother’s keeper. I can also respect your views on race and your belief in our nation striving towards a more perfect union. I share those thoughts with you. Unfortunately, you were not the one who killed Trayvon Martin and you are not the one on trial for murder. From the onset, all we have asked is that your brother be arrested and be judged by a jury of his peers. It will be his words and his thoughts that will be examined by the court and his destiny ultimately decided by his fellow American citizens. So, although your words are kind and compassionate, it will be the words of your brother that matter the most.
I certainly cannot imagine what it is like to wake-up one morning and your whole world is turned upside down. Your family’s life has been changed forever by the actions of your brother, and for that I cannot begin to comprehend the consequences. More complicated to me though is understanding the dinner table this past Thanksgiving at the home of Trayvon Martin, where there was an empty chair. I think about Christmas Day in three weeks where someone will be missing to open his gifts. I think about the morning of his upcoming 18th birthday in February where no one will be able to wish him another amazing year of life. I think about the tears his mother, father, brother and loved ones will shed on the one year anniversary of his death.
If only your brother didn’t have a gun that rainy night in Sanford, Florida, we wouldn’t have to exchange letters.
Respectfully,
Michael
Michael Skolnik is the Editor-In-Chief of GlobalGrind.com and the political director to Russell Simmons. Prior to this, Michael was an award-winning filmmaker. Follow him on twitter @MichaelSkolnik
