From Reuters:
The 28-year-old insurance-fraud investigator comes from a deeply Catholic background and was taught in his early years to do right by those less fortunate. He was raised in a racially integrated household and himself has black roots through an Afro-Peruvian great-grandfather - the father of the maternal grandmother who helped raise him.
A criminal justice student who aspired to become a judge, Zimmerman also concerned himself with the safety of his neighbors after a series of break-ins committed by young African-American men.
Though civil rights demonstrators have argued Zimmerman should not have prejudged Martin, one black neighbor of the Zimmermans said recent history should be taken into account.
"Let's talk about the elephant in the room. I'm black, OK?" the woman said, declining to be identified because she anticipated backlash due to her race. She leaned in to look a reporter directly in the eyes. "There were black boys robbing houses in this neighborhood," she said. "That's why George was suspicious of Trayvon Martin."
"MIXED" HOUSEHOLD
George Michael Zimmerman was born in 1983 to Robert and Gladys Zimmerman, the third of four children. Robert Zimmerman Sr. was a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam in 1970, and was stationed at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, in 1975 with Gladys Mesa's brother George. Zimmerman Sr. also served two tours in Korea, and spent the final 10 years of his 22-year military career in the Pentagon, working for the Department of Defense, a family member said.
In his final years in Virginia before retiring to Florida, Robert Zimmerman served as a magistrate in Fairfax County's 19th Judicial District.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-usa-florida-shooting-zimmerman-idUSBRE83O18H20120425
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Comments: 9
Now I am going to put the cat among the pigeons. If I was a thief who robbed homes what better way than to send one of my friends around the neighbourhood on the lookout for easy pickings an then to phone my friends to tell them, it’s OK guys come on over not many people about just a man walking his dog and he will be gone before you get here. If I was as suspicious sort of person that's what would be going through my mind now.
Oh and one more thing, why hasn't Sharpton, Jackson been arrested for inciting violence and racial hatred crimes? Is it one law for one race, and another law for a different race of people?
I'm a little put off by animal control telling him to get a gun, though, to shoot a dog. Animal Control should have cited the neighbor who allowed the dog to run loose, but shoot it?
My one dog used to roam if she got the chance to escape. Lucily, it was usually just around the block and she'd come right home, knowing we were on her tail...literally. But she's a gentle dog who loves people. I'd hate to think someone would shoot her only because she got loose.
I know people have this fear of pit bulls, but all the pit bull dogs I've ever encountered have been nothing but friendly.
And about Sharpton, Jackson,and Louis Farrakhan? This is exactly what Obama wanted which is why he made the statement he did, shooting his mouth off about a local case before knowing any of the facts.
I don't know ... maybe it was just bad judgment on her part. Thanks for your thoughts.
Graham, "...why hasn't Sharpton, Jackson been arrested for inciting violence and racial hatred crimes?"
And what about the Black Panthers promising a reward for providing Zimmerman dead or alive. I couldn't believe that. Can a criminal be open about hiring a killer? Are there no charges pending toward the Black Panthers. Are the officials too afraid? Wow. That's something.
Unbelievable.