Trayvon Martin can be 30 years outdated in the present day if not for the meddling of volunteer evening watchman George Zimmerman. Whereas sobering ideas dangle over the heads of many relating to the lack of Trayvon Martin, many are selecting to make use of this time to carry up his lasting reminiscence.
As a substitute of writing my standard report relating to Trayvon Martin, I’m electing to talk as myself and utterly from the guts. Martin’s dying hit me notably laborious as a result of I, like many Black males who grew up within the inside metropolis, know full nicely what being Black in America means and the way probably harmful it has largely all the time been.
After I was writing for NewsOne, I traveled to Sanford, the Florida city the place younger Trayvon was gunned down by Zimmerman. I spoke with city leaders and with Martin’s mother and father, making an attempt to make sense of the ache whereas additionally doing my responsibility as a reporter. I can say with measurable confidence that it was one of many hardest issues I’ve ever needed to do. And but, I used to be struck by the resilience of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, now not romantically concerned however unified in honor of their son.
Martin’s dying was one of many many catalysts for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) motion, which launched in earnest a yr after Martin’s 2012 passing. In fact, a number of observers have their ideas about BLM, some favorable and others unsavory, however the significance of that interval won’t ever be forgotten.
I’m only a author. I’m not an activist nor do I do know what to do in instances like this past sharing my timeless devotion to the elevation of my individuals and that those that have been killed unjustly are by no means a footnote however as a substitute an inspiration.
If we will honor Trayvon Martin in a single unifying means, it might be to maintain his title alive and by no means let these in energy overlook that Black our bodies aren’t targets. Black individuals are not automated threats. Black individuals need to dwell on the identical phrases and with the identical grace as all individuals ought to.
And with that, I pledge to dwell out loud for Trayon. Could he relaxation powerfully in peace.
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Picture: Getty
