Trayvon Martin, a teen who was murdered in 2012 because of the way he looked, would have celebrated his 19th birthday Feb. 5, 2014.
You had no way of knowing a bullet would have pierced your body the night of Feb. 20, 2012 causing your last breaths to escape from your body, your chest to rise and fall for the last time and your heart to no longer produce the rhythm of life.
All you wanted was some skittles and tea.
The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon’s eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?” said Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin’s Father.
George Zimmerman arrested April 11, and charged with second-degree murder in the Trayvon Martin shooting.
Trayvon’s parents and the American public just may get the answer to this question. George Zimmerman, self-appointed neighborhood watchman who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after protests made this issue a national priority.
“I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly,” Special Prosecutor Angela Corey said in remarks broadcast live on TV and online. “We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts in any given case, as well as the laws of the state of Florida.”
From CNN iReport"New York photographer Darrel Dawkins wants to send a message about the Trayvon Martin story, as do many iReporters who shared self-portraits in support of the movement. 'We shouldn't stay silent. We should basically talk about those who are out there discriminating and those who are racist'."
We’ve all heard the story of the innocent looking elderly lady who clutches her pocketbook in fear as a young black mal
e walks past her, or the people that move to the opposite side of the street to avoid “danger that may arise” from being in the presence of the previous described person. These young individuals get followed around in stores and even get kicked out of locations because they look as if they will steal or cause trouble. I admit even my senses heighten and I turn on my defense mode when I am approached by a strange black male. Society has told us to automatically perceive them as a potential threat. “They have track records,” we think. Appalling! Some may holler. But to those it happens to, it’s just normal everyday living.
For 17-year-old Trayvon Martin this battle of prejudging escalated from a temporary feeling of discomfort to a bloody altercation that demanded he pay the price of his life.
Fearless Expressioner 