10 years ago this Saturday, a 17-year-old from Miami Gardens was visiting his dad in Sanford, Florida near Orlando. He walked to a 7-Eleven to get some snacks and was walking home when a neighborhood watchman ignored a 911 operator he called and followed the teen.
Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by the watchman, who would later be found not guilty of murder.
You turn to SA国际传谋 for reporting you can trust and stories that move our South Florida community forward. Your support makes it possible. Please now. Thank you.
There were calls to boycott Florida over its Stand Your Ground gun law that was key in the murder trial. Martin鈥檚 image as a Black teenager wearing a hooded sweatshirt came to symbolize injustice for a generation.
Keno Walker, a youth organizer with Power U remembers how Martin鈥檚 death brought swift and grand change to the landscape of activism. He graduated high school the same year Martin would鈥檝e graduated, and has been involved with the organization since he was 13 years old.
鈥淥ur work actually took a shift,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is where the movement of having youth organizers, youth education, youth political actions took place.鈥�Keno Walker, Power U youth organizer
Martin鈥檚 killing and his shooter鈥檚 acquittal sparked protests and calls for justice that would echo louder and farther years later with the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
The biggest legacy from Martin鈥檚 killing is the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement and organization.
Isaiah Smalls, a reporter covering race and culture for the Miami Herald, said that Martin鈥檚 parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin were at the forefront in the creation of this movement. They did not want their son to be forgotten.
From Trayvon Martin to George Floyd, he said that it feels like it just keeps happening. It鈥檚 a larger issue that keeps coming to the forefront of the news cycle that comes from the perceived cheapness of Black lives, he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this love for this continued push for equality, but also there鈥檚 this understanding that being Black in America still comes at that risk.鈥�Isaiah Smalls. Miami Herald reporter
Russian influence throughout Latin America
Russia鈥檚 long-feared invasion of Ukraine began Thursday, with an attack from multiple directions.
As Russia forcefully attempts to increase its sphere of influence on that side of the world, it has also been growing its political influence in Latin America.
Earlier this month, Argentine president Alberto Fern谩ndez and Brazil鈥檚 President Jair Bolsonaro paid Moscow separate visits. And a top Russian official traveled to Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua to meet with leaders there, promising more military cooperation.
Fern谩ndez said that Argentina has to reduce its independence and has to open up to other places, with Russia playing an important role in this case.
Russia鈥檚 influence in the region has been steadily growing. It currently has 18 embassies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Luis Guillermo Solis, the Interim Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU and the former president of Costa Rica, said he鈥檚 always had this concern of Russia operating in Latin America for years without constraint.
鈥淭hey have come and installed even militarily in several countries in the region,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or decades.鈥�
These countries include Guatemala, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Russia has been bolstering and aiding the Nicaraguan Armed Forces.
Russia鈥檚 long-time support of the regimes in these countries, along with their delivery of their Sputnik vaccine when the U.S. couldn鈥檛 provide one, have helped foster this growth of influence.
Solis believes that those in the Latin diaspora should remain aware of the situation in Ukraine and be prepared.
鈥淭his is not something that will go away easily, and the consequences that it can bear upon the immediate area of the crisis but also the regions beyond it have to be measured carefully.鈥�
Growing abortion rights in Colombia and South America
Colombia partially decriminalized abortion 鈥� becoming the latest Latin American country to ease restrictions on the procedure.
Colombia鈥檚 constitutional court had been hearing a case that challenged the criminalization of abortion in the country and ruled that abortion is effectively decriminalized up to 24 weeks.
Daniela Martins, Director of Strategy and Communications for the Women鈥檚 Equality Center, said that this is a landmark ruling with the most flexible abortion legislation in the region.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very important to understand that this is part of a movement that was sparked in Argentina back in December 2020 when the country legalized abortion,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was followed then by a supreme court decision in Mexico 鈥� What we see is this domino effect within the region.鈥�
Before the ruling, abortions were allowed only if a woman鈥檚 life was in danger, a fetus had malformations or the pregnancy was a result of rape.
Women in Colombia won鈥檛 have to provide any justification within that 24-week term. After the 24th week, restrictions on abortion will remain in place.
The easing of abortion restrictions in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico have been called tectonic. This movement is in contrast to the potential shift on abortion rules here in the U-S, including Florida.
Florida and several other states move to tighten rules ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling expected in June that could overturn Roe vs. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion.
Florida lawmakers are poised to approve new abortion restrictions. Current Florida law bans abortions after 24 weeks. The bill making its way through the Legislature would reduce that to 15 weeks and has no exemptions for rape or incest.
Martins said that these tightening abortion restrictions will affect those who are the most vulnerable, and it is concerning especially since the U.S. is a beacon for women in Latin America who seek necessary medical procedures.
鈥淲hat we see in Florida is extremely concerning, but there is also a sense of solidarity that is coming out of Latin America that is trying to send hope to the movement fighting these regressions in the United States.鈥�
