On February 5, 2012, Trayvon Benjamin Martin celebrated his 17th birthday in his hometown of Miami Gardens. Three weeks later, he was shot to death after leaving a 7-Eleven in Sanford, becoming the tragic face of an important movement.
This weekend, hundreds of allies and community members gathered at Ives Estate Park in Miami-Dade to celebrate Trayvon on what would have been his 27th birthday.
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The event, dubbed Peace Walk and Peace Talk, commenced its 10th annual observance along with a string of collaborators working with the that hosted the event. Many Black business owners set up booths, comedians performed, and two marching bands from Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Florida performed.
Miami resident and Guyana native Susan Kennedy also had a booth. She is the founder of the foundation and an ambassador for the Trayvon Martin Foundation. She takes donations of unused bullets and beads them into jewelry, mostly bracelets. She then uses the proceeds to support families impacted by gun violence.
Kennedy started the foundation in 2016 in response to the murder of 6-year-old in Miami. Since then she has collected more than 20,000 bullets.
鈥淥ur boys are dying. No one seems to care. There's not enough outrage for our children,鈥� she went on. 鈥淪o Bullets 4 Life, it's a voice. We become a voice for the voiceless.鈥�
Miami鈥檚 Chire Regans, a.k.a , is a visual artist and activist. She displayed white charcoal portraits of Black people killed because of gun violence. The paintings are part of a series titled The Memorial Portrait Project, also initiated in 2016 following King Carter鈥檚 death.
Her subjects included George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin among many others. VantaBlack says that she chose to depict victims against black paper to create a stark contrast that challenges the viewer.
鈥淚'm dealing with how light hits these faces because I want to bring life back into their faces.鈥�
Despite showing remorse for the series鈥� innate 鈥渙ngoing鈥� nature, Black says that she will continue to work in this vein. 鈥淚'm a member of the community and I have to use my gift to address what's happening in the community.鈥�
While many attendants hail from Miami, quite a few folks came from outside of Florida. George Kemp came from Houston. He lost his son, , in 2013 after a fatal shooting. Since then, Kemp has been working to support other families impacted by gun violence.
He said he is dedicated to spreading awareness to put a stop to gun violence and is motivated by his son.
鈥淚 know he鈥檚 [Kemp Jr.] is watching over me, saying to me 鈥楧addy, keep going. Keep walking. I鈥檓 by your side, I鈥檓 your shadow.鈥�
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava took the stage to speak. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have policies that allow this [violence].鈥� The mayor continued, 鈥淲e will not stop until we rid this country of hate and prejudice.鈥�
Actor and recording artist Jamie Foxx warmed up the mic for Trayvon鈥檚 family. Joined on stage by his two teenage daughters, he shared his thoughts on the future of Black history.
鈥淚t's important that we don't give up any of our history or an opportunity to celebrate our history,鈥� he continued, 鈥渘o other community gives up their opportunity to celebrate the history. So we must continue to celebrate our history and not forget what has happened to us in history.鈥�
Shortly after, Trayvon鈥檚 father, Tracy Martin, took the stage with Trayvon鈥檚 mother Sybrina Fulton and Trayvon鈥檚 older brother Jahavaris Fulton Jr.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 looking at that day is actually the fruits of Trayvon Martin's labor,鈥� Foxx said. 鈥淭his is us promising to him that we weren't going to stop fighting. And we will still continue to fight not only for Trayvon, but for your kids, for your family members, for your sons, for your daughters.鈥�
Sybrina Fulton, urged attendees to stay resilient. 鈥淲e got to trust in God. We can't give up,鈥� she continued, 鈥渨e鈥檝e come too far to give up now. So I want to say, ``Happy Birthday to Trayvon.鈥�
The day was a celebration of many lives as the phrase 鈥渨e are Trayvon Martin鈥� was a sentiment shared by many in attendance. A strong emphasis on the state of social justice reform was echoed by most of the event鈥檚 sponsors. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, , and were among some of the organizations present to inspire community members to take action.
The Trayvon Martin Foundation continues to advocate against gun violence and uplift inner city communities by providing scholarships and community outreach programs to young people.
