Sybrina Fulton, a civil rights activist founded by the Rev., said that she never plans anything or does anything on February 26th. Al Sharpton in Harlem
Sharpton and Mayor Eric Adams were among the audience she spoke to, telling them that she wanted to support her supporters. Adams, then a New York state senator, was one of several Black legislators who wore sweatshirts while attending a 2012 legislative session in protest of the death of the 17-year old Sanford, Florida, resident.
Trayvon Martin was wearing a sweatshirt similar to his when he was shot and killed while returning from a grocery store. He was visiting his father at a gated community in Orlando. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member, confronted Trayvon Martin and shot him. He had reported him as suspicious to the authorities.
Zimmerman, who claimed Martin attacked him, was acquitted in 2013 of second-degree murder.
The shooting brought back attention to justice and race in America. Sharpton met Martin’s family early on and Ben Crump, their attorney, to draw attention to Martin’s death. On Saturday, Sharpton compared Martin’s legacy with Emmett Till’s Chicago teen, whose 1955 Mississippi lynching sparked the civil rights movement.
Fulton said that today is a bittersweet moment. She created the Trayvon Mart Foundation with her family to raise awareness about gun violence. “I thank God that all the Trayvon Martins you don’t know, all those young girls who were shot and killed, and all our black and brown boys who were shot and killed but you don’t know their names. They are grateful for your support. We are grateful that you have prayed for them. We are grateful for your support. They are dependent on you. They need your voice. Don’t quit if they don’t respond to your efforts.
Adams praised Fulton’s “turning pain in to purpose.”
