Sybrina Fulton describes herself as an \u201caverage mom\u201d when her life was changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked 24 years for the Miami Housing Authority, I had two young boys. We fussed about about average things like hair cuts and homework,\u201d she said Wednesday in St. Louis.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s sons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anything could prepare me for the journey I would be on,\u201d said during the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tribute, hosted by St. Louis University and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cloveable.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was always there with a smile. He was always there with hug. He was just coming into his own.<\/p>\n
Zimmerman faced a criminal trial, but an all-white jury acquitted him in Sanford, Fla.<\/p>\n
A message that Fulton shared with an audience of more than 500 people was to not shirk jury duty or community service.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019t try to get out of jury duty,\u201d she said when asked what she had learned since her son was killed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe justice system was just not fair to us. It was called \u2018the Trayvon Martin trial\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fulton said she wished people, including those on the jury, \u201cwould have looked at Trayvon like it was their child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following her son\u2019s shooting death, Fulton said her efforts \u201cwere just about getting justice for Trayvon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned that it wasn\u2019t just about us, not just about Trayvon. It was about all those who find themselves in similar situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fulton has established the Trayvon Martin Foundation with her son, Jahvaris, and its mission \u201cis 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.<\/p>\n
She also extolled Black people to vote \u201cnot just in presidential elections but in all elections\u201d and to also support non-profit organizations like the United Way.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
McMillan said Fulton \u201ctook a tragedy and turned it into a triumph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine what she has been through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The SLU\/Urban League MLK Memorial Tribute was celebrated in person for the first time since 2020.<\/p>\n
Fred P. Costello, SLU president, said during recalled King\u2019s words when he spoke on the campus on Oct. 12, 1964.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have come a long, long way. But we have a long, long way to before we solve this problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay [Dr. King] direct us forward on the path to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n