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Former PresidentBarack Obamais marking 10 years since the death ofTrayvon Martin.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since Trayvon Martin was killed. Trayvon wasn’t so different from me. When I look at photos, I see how I resembled him as a teenager, and as a young Black man, the way I was perceived was similar to the way Trayvon was perceived. Luck might have been the only thing that separated us,” he began his caption.
Obama added that he “was deeply frustrated in the wake of [Martin’s] death and tried to figure out what my administration could do to address the systemic issues that led to this tragedy.”
In response, Obama formed theMy Brother’s Keeperinitiative, an organization founded “to empower and support young boys and men of color across the country,” he explained.
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“We still have a long way to go, but my hope is that we can look back on this moment and the movement that emerged in response to Trayvon’s death as one more step in our country’s journey to come to terms with our past,” he added.
“It will take all of us to make that a reality, and I hope you’ll join us in this work,” Obama concluded.
Zimmerman, who fatally shot Martin in 2012 when the teenager was on a trip to a convenience store to buy Skittles and iced tea, claimed he had been defending himself under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws. He was eventually acquitted of murder charges in 2013.
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Martin’s mother spoke to PEOPLE for the10-year anniversary of her son’s death. Sybrina Fulton said she still cries “every day” since losing her son, adding, “I miss Trayvon, and I’ll miss him every day of my life.”
Going forward, Fulton told PEOPLE she wants to “help end senseless gun violence.”
“If there’s anything good that can come out of what happened to Trayvon, it’s that people are more aware,” she said. “Maybe that can make a difference.”
source: people.com
