Letters: Who wants to claim George Zimmerman?

President Obama is the son of an African man and a Caucasian woman, raised primarily by his Caucasian mother and grandparents. His complexion is on the darker side, so of course he is considered black or African-American.

George Zimmerman’s father is of German ancestry. His mother is of Peruvian descent, which could be a mixture of many races.

A recent letter stated that “It was the media that made George Zimmerman a white man instead of Latino.”

Like President Obama, Zimmerman took traits of his darker parent, so if seen on the streets he would probably be identified as such. However since both are public figures, we know they are as much one race as the other, and both were raised in more of a white household than a black or Peruvian one.

However, many people still follow the 17th century rule that says anyone with 1/16th blood that is other than white is not white. Old-fashioned Jim Crow racism.

I am proud to claim Barack Obama as one of my own, and he appears to be proud to accept his heritage. I don’t know who is proud to claim Zimmerman as one of theirs. Although people are quick to defend his killing a 17-year-old African-American boy, they want to make sure we know he is not one of them.