The story of Trayvon Martin sends chills up Black Individuals’ spines, particularly on the thirteenth anniversary of his dying (Feb. 26, 2012). And when George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing the then-17 12 months outdated, nobody would have identified the decision would give delivery to the Black Lives Matter motion, a world revolution.
Shane Cameron grew up simply hours away from the place Martin was killed in Sanford, Fla. Cameron was in elementary faculty when Martin’s killing broke nationwide information. “I used to be very upset,” he advised The Root. “It’s given me a basic nervousness about sure conditions— particularly once I’m someplace like Florida.”
As a Black boy rising up in Broward County, Cameron stated his dad and mom made certain he was conscious of the case and others prefer it. “They form of taught me to pay attention to how sadly, conditions like [Martin’s] are quite common,” he stated. “Whereas lots of people learn about what occurred with Trayvon Martin, there’s loads of circumstances similar to that. They only don’t get the identical form of information protection.”
Martin’s dying started to hit nearer to residence for Phoenix Williams after he was focused whereas driving a Detroit faculty bus in 2015. Then, a bunch of white college students referred to as Williams the n-word at the least 20 instances, his mom advised Detroit Free Press. Ten years later, Williams revealed to The Root one other hurtful assault he skilled that day.
“One of many issues the white boys had referred to as me was Trayvon Martin,” Williams advised The Root. “That’s once I really feel like I grew a really massive mistrust for individuals of that background.” Williams was solely 10 when Martin was focused holding a bag of skittles and an Arizona tea. “To undergo that at 10 after which to be 13, 14 years outdated and to be referred to as Trayvon Martin as like a slur? It was like ‘man I might be him.’”
Positioned only one state away from Florida, Jada Wilson was an eighth grader in the course of the 2012 incident. Nonetheless, she remembers the complexities of being raised in Metro Atlanta— a liberal metropolis in a conservative state. She stated it was troublesome for her southern group to elucidate what precisely was occurring. “Everybody was positively alert and understanding of what the scenario was [but] simply not what to do about it,” Wilson advised The Root. “Or learn how to go ahead with what we had been witnessing and what this meant for our group.”
A 12 months later, Zimmerman went to trial as your complete nation held it’s breath whereas a Florida jury deliberated. Finally, he was acquitted in July 2013 citing the state’s “Stand Floor Floor” regulation. Information of the verdict shook the nation sending 1000’s to the streets to protest.
Now in 2025, Wilson says we haven’t made a lot progress. “I imagine we’ve regressed,” Wilson stated. “It’s nonetheless a struggle to get everybody on the identical workforce or simply prepared to struggle due to the false hope— due to the frustration in believing that America won’t ever change.”
However for the Georgia native, that doesn’t imply the work stops. “It’s about doing what’s in your energy to form at the least your group to be a protected area for our individuals,” she continued.