The Stand-Your-Ground Law

In the book, “Stand Your Ground,” Kelly Brown Douglas provides a clear understanding on the continuation of racism and white supremacy portrayed by the establishment of the Stand-Your-Ground law. The Stand-Your-Ground law comes from the English common law that gives a person the right to protect his or her “castle.” In other terms, a castle is referred to a person’s body. The Stand-Your-Ground law allows a person to protect their embodied castle whenever or wherever feeling threatened. However, the law created a social-cultural climate where the destruction and death of black bodies is allowed. The Stand-Your-Ground culture permits racial violence against young black bodies, and there is no persecution made to defend the injustice of these …show more content…
To start off, Brown Douglas traced back to the development that initiated America’s culture in establishing this law. The Anglo-Saxon myth, where freedom and purity is tied to white virtue, became America’s identity. In addition, America was believed to be the New Israel and Americans to be the New Israelites. Jonathan Edwards noted, “America was discovered about the time of reformation, in which God was trying to rescue the world from the depths of darkness and ruin into which it had sunk. Yet, in order to introduce a new and more excellent state of the church where the power of God might be more conspicuous, God had to start all over in a new world, America,” (14). America was chosen to bring forth the religious faith of God and the face of the church. The Anglo-Saxon myth is the chosen nature for America’s exceptionalism. Brown Douglas stated, “Thus, America’s grand narrative of exceptionalism is the narrative of America’s identity. To be a chosen nation is to be an Anglo-Saxon nation. To be an Anglo-Saxon nation is to …show more content…
The resistance to defend their human dignity and life. Brown Douglas mentioned, “If black people are to respond to Stand-Your-Ground culture with the strength of black faith then we must work to put an end to the laws of a Stand-Your-Ground culture that rob black bodies of freedom and life,” (166). The Stand-Your-Ground culture is destroying and killing the lives of many black people. The black faith tradition is giving black people a chance to defend their rights and their life. Yet, Brown Douglas makes an excellent point that “black faith cannot change the world,” (169). It is up to the black community to unite and stand together to defend their culture. The actions of people determine the outcome that is expected to happen. Black faith is a voice for the black community; thus it allows them to fight for justice. The Stand-Your-Ground culture is promoting the idea that one life is more valuable than the life of another. People are denying the sacredness of God’s human creation. Brown Douglas stated, “Both the lack or regret for the taking of a life and the refusal to acknowledge the meaning of a life beyond a crucifying death are inevitable outcomes of Stand-Your-Ground culture,” (194). We live in a culture that does not respect free black bodies. We live in a culture that finds black bodies a danger; therefore, black individuals are not allow to walk in open