George Zimmerman's murder trial will require the retelling of the events of the night Trayvon Martin was shot and killed — in the courtroom, and on the news. Given the behavior of the media in the days and weeks following Trayvon’s death last year, we know that news media, pundits and other commentators will try to vilify and dehumanize Trayvon in coverage of the trial, reinforcing harmful racial stereotypes that put Black men and boys at real risk of physical violence.

By mobilizing to serve as a proactive media watchdog during the trial, monitoring national and local coverage for biased reporting, we can interrupt this pattern of unfair media portrayals and break the cycle of harm that it causes.