It’s been 10 years since George Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. By now, many still remember his hooded sweatshirt, soft drink, and bag of Skittles. But his family always knew he was much more than that.
“Trayvon Martin became a martyr and a symbol of racial injustice, a name and a face on T-shirts, posters and protest signs,” Martin’s mother wrote in a joint memoir with his father in 2017. “Yet, when Trayvon was alive, he was ‘simply a boy.’”
Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, described their son’s “beautiful smile.” His long legs. The fact that he pulled his father out of a fire when he was nine. They talked about how he dreamed of being a pilot as an adult, but received an honorary aviation degree because he can never become one.
In the 10 years since Martin was killed, Black children haven’t won much justice or safety. They’re still hunted by adultification and violence. And since the systems of white supremacy and criminal “justice” haven’t turned around yet, we cannot wait any longer.
So as Zimmerman has gotten his moment to sue Martin’s family for character assassination – and lose – we have a moment to ask: who was the character Zimmerman assassinated? And what world can we build to save our children from white supremacy’s dangers?