
Trayvon Martin's mother urges students to get involved

Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, urged a campus audience to
get involved, participate in service work and to not be silent.
Fulton was the first keynote speaker during Grand Valley’s Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week. She spoke to more than
2,000 people in the Fieldhouse on January 19.
Trayvon Martin was 17 years old in 2012 when he was shot to
death in Florida. Fulton has since dedicated her life to transforming
family tragedy into social change. She and Trayvon’s father, Tracy
Martin, established the Trayvon Martin Foundation to raise awareness
of how violent crime impacts families of victims, and to advocate for
those families.
Fulton said before Trayvon died, her family lived a regular life
in Florida.
“My son wanted the same things your children want,” Fulton said.
“He had his flaws and made mistakes, but he was no criminal.”
Fulton recognized that some audience members might feel far
removed from gun violence.
“It might be easy to say that this is not my family or my
community, but this is what is happening in your country, and you need
to participate,” she said. “A lot of these situations are not right.
So many things are occurring that stem from senseless gun violence.
You cannot remain silent.”
She urged students to get involved in nonprofit organizations
and learn about the issues in their communities.
Fulton will also speak to an audience tonight at Grand Rapids
Community College and Tuesday, January 20, at Davenport University.
Grand Valley’s MLK Commemoration Week events continue all week.
The second keynote speaker, Marc Lamont Hill, will speak on Wednesday,
January 21, in the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room, at 4:30 p.m.
Hill’s speech will be simulcast to the DeVos Center, Loosemore
Auditorium, to better accommodate the Pew Grand Rapids Campus and
Grand Rapids community.
Visit www.gvsu.edu/mlk for
details; use #GVSUMLK on social media.
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