It seems as though more and more everyday we hear of crimes being committed that could possibly be caused due to racial prejudice. Although one would think that in a time where our cities are filled with many different races and nationalities living among one another, co-existing, even falling in love at times and starting families that racial tension, racial discrimination, and prejudice would be a thing of our past-- or is it?.
November 23, 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida after attending his son's wedding Michael Dunn, 45, opened fire on Jordan Davis, 17, and his three friends at a local gas station parking lot, killing Davis. Dunn's conviction was just announced February 15, 2014. The racial significance of this case is that Dunn is a white middle aged male and Davis a young black male. The meeting of the two happened to be by chance and what took place in that parking lot left a tremendous impact to those closest to each of the men along with the rest of the world (Chappell, Mullis).
Michael Dunn, a software developer from Florida, whose life would change forever after that fateful day at the local convenience store, would have a chance to tell his side of the story. "According to court records, Dunn asked the teens to turn down their music. They did. But he said they turned it back up," (Dunn). This triggered a response from the kids in the vehicle. "He testified that Davis threatened him, and he decided to take matters into his own hands upon seeing what he thought was the barrel of a gun sticking out of the Durango," (Dunn). Dunn felt so threatened for his life that he in turn went to his car, "reached into his glove box, pulled out his gun and fired four times, fatally shooting Davis," (Dunn). As the kids drove away Dunn continued to shoot at the Durango. At no time did any of the males in the SUV return fire which would correlate with police records that no weapons were ever found.
