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| TRAYVON’S PARENTS CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE, FREEDOM |
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| Opinion Headlines |
| Written by Ronald Parks |
| Wednesday, 09 May 2012 12:19 |
 A Special To The TimesOn Thursday, May 3, 2012, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the parents of slain Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin, visited Birmingham, where they were hosted by a chain of events, designed to focus attention on The State of our Youth and Justice in America, also a Time of Healing with the Trayvon Martin Family. Accompanied by their family attorney, Benjamin Crump, Martin and Fulton’s two-day visit to the City, began with a brief ceremony held in front of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, where they were greeted by a moderate crowd of supporters and introduced by Reverend Frank Matthews of the Outcast Voters League, after which they received words of welcome, and encouragement from Metro Birmingham’s NAACP President Hezekiah Jackson, IV, Sephira Shuttlesworth of The Shuttlesworth Foundation and Bishop Calvin Woods, Sr., President of The Metro Birmingham SCLC. “We are going through a lot, but it is good to know that there are other people that are standing with us,” said Sybrina Fulton. “There’s a stand out there that says, I may bend but won’t break. So long as you guys continue to support us, you may Bend Me, But You Won’t Break Me,” said Tracy Martin. “I’m here in the spirit of my husband,” said Sephira Shuttlesworth. “I know, if he were here, he would stand and pray with and for you.” This has been called a difficult case,” said Crump. “Only when the shoe is on the other foot , does it not be a difficult case. Had Trayvon been white and George Zimmerman Black, there would have been an arrest almost immediately. It would not have taken 44 drays,” he said. “The 911 tapes clearly confirm that this was a case of second degree murder, because after he made the call and told the 911 operator that there was a suspicious looking person whom he described as being Black, walking in the neighborhood, he was told by the operator not to follow him, but he did anyway, confronting and killing Trayvon.” According to Crump and many others in the true “arena of public opinion”, if anyone had the right to the “Stand Your Ground Law” it was Trayvon. “But we can never do what we have accused Zimmerman of doing,” he said and that is take the law into our own hands. We must remain peaceful and abide by the law. We just want simple justice,” said Crump. After addressing the crowd, the family, along with a number of faithful supporters, participated in a brief “Hoodie Freedom Walk” to Kelly Ingram Park, which culminated in front of the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial. At 3 p.m. a fundraising reception was held and hosted by the Cochran Law Firm, located at 1929 3rd Avenue North, Suite 800 Downtown Birmingham. Attorney Crump was the special guest speaker. Proceeds from the affair were donated to the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Later that afternoon, at 5 p.m. the family attended a town hall meeting, hosted by Miles College at the school’s Pearson Hall. The meeting, according to Martin, hopefully would raise community awareness to the purpose of the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Educating our youth on how to walk away from certain things and educating people on racial profiling are two of the most important things for our youth and communities to know, according to the Foundation. Before leaving the City on Friday, May 5th, the family was given a guided tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the historical, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. |
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