Sybrina Fulton continues fight for justice in Trayvon Martin’s name | News

Sybrina Fulton describes herself as an “average mom” when her life was changed.

“I worked 24 years for the Miami Housing Authority, I had two young boys. We fussed about about average things like hair cuts and homework,” she said Wednesday in St. Louis.

It has been more than a decade since George Zimmerman, then 28, followed, confronted, shot, and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, one of Fulton’s sons. 

“I don’t think anything could prepare me for the journey I would be on,” said during the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tribute, hosted by St. Louis University and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

In an on-stage discussion in the Busch Student Center ballroom on the SLU campus, Fulton shared in discussion with Michael McMillan, Urban League president and CEO, called her son Trayvon “loveable.’

“He was always there with a smile. He was always there with hug. He was just coming into his own.

Zimmerman faced a criminal trial, but an all-white jury acquitted him in Sanford, Fla.

A message that Fulton shared with an audience of more than 500 people was to not shirk jury duty or community service.

“I wish we had people of color on that jury. If some of you had been there [on the jury] the man who shot Trayvon would be in jail. Don’t try to get out of jury duty,” she said when asked what she had learned since her son was killed.

“The justice system was just not fair to us. It was called ‘the Trayvon Martin trial’ but Trayvon Martin was not on trial. This was not about a hoodie [that Martin was wearing when being pursued by Zimmerman,] it was only because of the color of his skin.”

Fulton said she wished people, including those on the jury, “would have looked at Trayvon like it was their child.”

Following her son’s shooting death, Fulton said her efforts “were just about getting justice for Trayvon.”

“I learned that it wasn’t just about us, not just about Trayvon. It was about all those who find themselves in similar situations.”

Fulton has established the Trayvon Martin Foundation with her son, Jahvaris, and its mission “is to bring awareness to ending senseless gun violence. It supports a group called Circle of Mothers, scholarships, STEM education programs, a youth empowerment summit, a Thanksgiving celebration, and other community events.

She also extolled Black people to vote “not just in presidential elections but in all elections” and to also support non-profit organizations like the United Way.

“You never know how much they can do until you need them. You never know how strong you are until you have to show your strength.”

McMillan said Fulton “took a tragedy and turned it into a triumph.”

“Imagine what she has been through,” he said.

The SLU/Urban League MLK Memorial Tribute was celebrated in person for the first time since 2020.

Fred P. Costello, SLU president, said during recalled King’s words when he spoke on the campus on Oct. 12, 1964.

“We have come a long, long way. But we have a long, long way to before we solve this problem,” he said.

“May [Dr. King] direct us forward on the path to justice.”

Fulton was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the celebration, and she thank those people in St. Louis, in America, and around the world that supported her after Trayvon Martin’s killing.

“I didn’t have to know you to feel your prayers. I knew I was speaking for my son was not here. And I knew I was speaking for my son who was here. I want to thank all of you,” she said.