69-593: Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida , who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida , by George Zimmerman , a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompanied his father to visit his father's fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford. On the evening of February 26, Martin
138-810: A book about Martin's life and death entitled Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin . In October 2020, a street in front of the Dr. Michael M. Krop High School in Miami that Martin attended was named "Trayvon Martin Avenue". Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida , United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located 16 miles (26 km) north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west, and from
207-407: A former federal prosecutor , who was part of the task force said it was "clear that there was lots of confusion around the statute". Marion Hammer , a National Rifle Association of America (NRA) lobbyist and former NRA president who had helped write Florida's law, said the law was not about one incident and there was nothing wrong with the law. The task force eventually recommended against repealing
276-617: A group calling themselves the Dream Defenders began a sit-in at the Florida State Capitol to force a special legislative session on Florida's stand-your-ground law. After 31 days, their occupation of the Capitol ended without a special session being called. A group of Martin supporters walked from Jacksonville, Florida , to Sanford to highlight what they believed were injustices concerning Florida's stand-your-ground law. The six-day walk
345-529: A jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and of manslaughter charges. Martin's parents, upset that an arrest had not been made in their son's death, contacted Martin's sister-in-law, an attorney who put them in touch with Benjamin Crump , a civil rights attorney from Tallahassee, Florida . Crump took their case pro bono and retained Natalie Jackson, an attorney familiar with Sanford and Seminole County who specialized in women's and children's cases, to help with
414-443: A personal nature with references to Krispy Kreme doughnuts, ice cream, movies, and all-night study sessions. The Miami Herald also reported that Martin was unhappy at Krop High School: in one of his tweets, he wrote, " WULD I MISS KROP?? HELL NAW FUK DA SKOOL, FUK DA LUNCH, ND MOST OF ALL FUK DA FACULTY..... IMA MISS SUM OF DA STUDENTS, MAINLY DA BABIES ;) " Critics of Martin had pointed out his tattoos, an empty marijuana bag,
483-416: A photo of Martin with gold grills , and texts from his cell phone to claim he had a violent nature and that there was an effort to keep this information from the public. His email and Facebook accounts were hacked by a white supremacist , and selected tweets from his Twitter account were published on the conservative website The Daily Caller . A picture of Martin making an obscene gesture from his account
552-488: A sense of humor and a preoccupation with girls and sometimes using profanity or obscene language when discussing sex in his tweets. Martin also enjoyed making jokes on Twitter about street culture and posted YouTube excerpts from films like Friday and Next Friday , which both made fun of street culture. Martin liked rap music and tweeted about Tupac Shakur , DMX , and Mystikal . He often quoted explicit song lyrics in his tweets. Martin's postings sometimes reflected
621-456: A seven-member city council . Members include Mayor Oliver Gilbert (since 2012), and six council members, four elected from districts and two elected citywide. The mayor recommends – and the city council hires – the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk. These are 17 of the many departments for which the City Manager of Miami Gardens creates a budget. The Miami Gardens Police Department
690-486: A task force to examine the state's self-defense laws. Martin's life was scrutinized by the media and bloggers. The name Trayvon was tweeted more than two million times in the 30 days following the shooting. More than 1,000 people attended the viewing of his remains the day before his funeral, which was held on March 3 in Miami. He was buried in Dade-Memorial Park (North), in Miami. A memorial was dedicated to Martin at
759-496: A volunteer Neighborhood Watch person, spotted Martin, who was 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) tall and weighed 158 pounds (72 kg) at the time of his death. Zimmerman called Sanford police to report Martin, who he said appeared "suspicious". There was an altercation between the two individuals in which Zimmerman shot Martin, killing him. Zimmerman claimed self-defense and was eventually charged in Martin's death. On June 10, 2013, Zimmerman's trial began in Sanford, and on July 13,
SECTION 10
#1732868797455828-476: A walkout in support of him. An online petition calling for a full investigation and prosecution of Zimmerman garnered 2.2 million signatures. Also in March, the media coverage surrounding Martin's death became the first story of 2012 to be featured more than the presidential race , which was underway at the time. A national debate about racial profiling and stand-your-ground laws ensued. The governor of Florida appointed
897-409: Is as follows: 286 reported cases of aggravated assault , 26 reported cases of arson , 435 reported cases of burglary , 7 cases reported of forcible rape , 2,139 cases reported of larceny and theft , 205 cases reported of motor vehicle theft , 18 reported cases of murder and manslaughter , and 102 reported cases of robbery . The Calder Race Course opened in 1971. Miami Gardens is home to
966-755: Is expected to be lower than in 2016. Miami Garden's 2016 violent crime rate was 63.64% higher than the national violent crime rate, and the property crime rate was 30.99% higher than the national property crime rate. In 2016, Miami Gardens' violent crime rate was higher than that in Florida by 50.99%, and the property crime rate was 19.49% higher. In 2016, there were 432 reported cases of aggravated assault, 22 reported cases of arson, 509 reported cases of burglary , 24 cases of forcible rape , 2,743 cases of larceny and theft , 419 reported cases of motor vehicle theft , 22 reported cases of murder and manslaughter , and 265 cases of robbery . The projected 2018 crime data
1035-526: Is the lead law enforcement agency for the 110,000 residents living within the city's 20 square miles (52 km ). The department operates under a unified command structure with its headquarters located at 1020 NW 163 Drive, Miami Gardens, Florida 33169. The department became operational on Sunday, December 16, 2007, with 159 sworn officers. Since then, the department has grown to 259 members consisting of 201 sworn positions with 58 non-sworn support positions. In 2013, law enforcement abuses were alleged regarding
1104-498: The 2020 United States census , there were 111,640 people, 30,946 households, and 23,158 families residing in the city. As of 2016, the age distribution was 5.6% under the age of 5, 6.7% from 5 to 9, 6.5% from 10 to 14, 15.5% from 15 to 24, 14.6% from 25 to 34, 12.7% 35 to 44, 13.1% 45 to 54, 12.6% 55 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The population was 46.9% male and 53.1% female. Families made up 72% of households, while 28% were non-families. The average household size
1173-502: The Broward County line to its north to 151st Street to its south. The city's name originated from Florida State Road 860 , a major roadway through the area also known as Miami Gardens Drive. It had a population of 111,640 as of 2020. Miami Gardens is Florida's most populous city with a majority African American population and also home to the largest percentage of African Americans (66.97 percent) of any city in Florida, according to
1242-634: The Fair Housing Act , and mostly lower income blacks moved into the Liberty City and Little Haiti neighborhoods surrounding Liberty Square and Edison Courts . Miami Gardens was incorporated on May 13, 2003. The city's neighborhoods of Andover , Bunche Park , Carol City , Lake Lucerne , Norland , Opa-locka North , and Scott Lake were previously unincorporated areas within Miami-Dade County . In 2007, Mayor Shirley Gibson said that
1311-637: The Miami Dolphins , who play in Hard Rock Stadium on land that was part of the Lake Lucerne CDP . This stadium also hosts the annual Orange Bowl college football game, and is the home field for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. The Miami Open tennis tournament is held on the grounds of the stadium. The Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball shared Hard Rock Stadium with
1380-556: The Miami Herald ' s Julie K. Brown : "The videos show, among other things, cops stopping citizens, questioning them, aggressively searching them and arresting them for trespassing when they have permission to be on the premises". It appeared Sampson had been arrested in this way due to police quotas, a department culture, and that Sampson was easy to arrest. Sampson always pleaded guilty so they would let him out almost immediately, with one exception where he pleaded not guilty, and he
1449-494: The Miami Hurricanes , the University of Miami 's NCAA Division I college football team . In the wake of the construction of I-95 in the late 1960s, many middle - and upper-income African American and West Indian American families migrated from Miami neighborhoods like Liberty City to what became Miami Gardens (also called Carol City , Norland , or Norwood ) as race-based covenants were outlawed with
SECTION 20
#17328687974551518-543: The U.S. Census Bureau . It is a principal city in the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida , which is the nation's ninth-largest , and world's 65th-largest metropolitan area with a population of 6.158 million people as of 2020. Miami Gardens is the home of Hard Rock Stadium , a 64,767 capacity multi-purpose stadium that serves as the home field for both the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and
1587-776: The Dolphins for almost two decades until, in 2012, they relocated to Miami and changed their name to the Miami Marlins . In 2022 , 2023 and 2024 , the Miami International Autodrome hosted the Miami Grand Prix for Formula One . The city of Miami Gardens has several health care clinics and facilities that offer medical care and support to its residents. Although the city has no hospital directly within its limits, Jackson North Medical Center, Concentra Urgent Care, and, Chen Medical Center provide medical services to
1656-686: The Goldsboro Westside Historical Museum, a Black history museum in Sanford, in July 2013. Martin was born in 1995 in Miami, Florida , to Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, who divorced in 1999. At the time of the shooting, Fulton was a program coordinator for the Miami Dade Housing Authority, and Tracy Martin was a truck driver; they lived near each other in Miami Gardens. Martin's older maternal half-brother, Jahavaris Fulton,
1725-524: The March, while other media outlets estimated the supporters to be in the hundreds. Martin's parents spoke at the event, and many of the participants at the event were Occupiers who had been evicted the night before from Union Square and returned for the March. At a White House press conference in March, President Obama was asked about the Martin shooting and said, "If I had a son he would look like Trayvon and I think they [his parents] are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with
1794-400: The Martin case. On March 5, Jackson asked Ryan Julison to help as well. A publicist , Julison initially approached several national media contacts about covering the shooting. Over the next few days and weeks, the national media started reporting on the shooting, including: Reuters , CBS This Morning , ABC World News , and CNN . The Miami Herald reported that in the 30 days following
1863-534: The Miami Gardens Police Department by several news outlets. The abuses were first uncovered when it became public that a convenience store employee, Earl Sampson was arrested 27 times for trespassing, while working at and around the store at which he was employed. Video evidence was gathered by the owner of the store, Ali Saleh, showing Miami Garden police involved in clear and repeated misconduct involving his employee, and customers. According to
1932-543: The Miami Gardens area, has a magnet program in dance, music, theatre and art, which began in 1985. The young actors Alex R. Hibbert and Jaden Piner, who starred in the Oscar-winning film Moonlight , were trained at this school. The Archdiocese of Miami operates area Catholic schools. Monsignor Edward Pace High School is in the Miami Gardens city limits. The archdiocese formerly operated Saint Monica School in Miami Gardens. Miami-Dade Public Library System operates
2001-565: The Second Chance on Shoot First campaign delivered a petition with 340,000 signatures to the Citizen Safety and Protection task force asking for changes to the stand-your-ground law in Florida. Governor Rick Scott had established the task force after Martin's death to review and make recommendations about the law. Florida was the first state to pass a law that allowed an individual who felt threatened to stand their ground. Joëlle Anne Moreno,
2070-483: The city appeared as census designated places in the 2000 census and previous censuses. In addition to the Miami Gardens CDP (pop. 2,706 in 2000), the remainder make up the neighborhoods of Andover , Bunche Park , Carol City , Lake Lucerne , Norland , Opa-locka North , and Scott Lake . The United States Census Bureau enumerated that the population of Miami Gardens was 111,640 per the 2020 census . As of
2139-518: The city would no longer allow any low-income housing developments; many residents blamed the developments for spreading crime and recreational drugs throughout the city. Around that time, the city's tax revenues dropped to the third-lowest in Miami-Dade County. In 2012, Oliver Gilbert , only the second mayor the city has had, proposed forming a community redevelopment agency (CRA). CRAs are formed to remove " slum and blight ", to improve
Trayvon Martin - Misplaced Pages Continue
2208-532: The concession stand and sometimes staying until 8:00 or 9:00 PM before going home. Martin's former football coach said he was a shy child and always walked with his hoodie and headphones on listening to music. Martin attended both Norland Middle School and Highland Oaks Middle School in north Miami-Dade County, Florida . He attended Miami Carol City High School in Miami Gardens for his freshman and sophomore years before he transferred to Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School in north Miami-Dade in 2011. At
2277-409: The dedication to teach students how to express their First Amendment rights while standing their ground for youth Civil Rights, according to the school. In July, President Obama made comments about the death of Martin after the acquittal of Zimmerman. He said, "I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see ... if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage
2346-558: The defense team needed to be able to review the evidence for any indications of violent tendencies. Some of the cell phone texts the defense wanted to use showed Martin had texted about his fights, marijuana use, and guns, and that he had described himself as "gangsta". Benjamin Crump, the Martins' family attorney, said whether Martin had worn gold teeth or used an obscene gesture had nothing to do with his death. The judge eventually ruled that Martin's social media posts would not be mentioned during
2415-718: The justice system and the culture. After the death of Martin, the media focus on the case was instrumental in developing a national debate about racial profiling and self-defense laws , with marches and rallies held across the United States. One of the larger rallies, the "Million Hoodie March", was held in Manhattan's Union Square in New York City on March 21. People wore hoodies to symbolize their support for Martin and against profiling used against non-white youths in hoodies. According to Salon , close to five thousand people attended
2484-463: The kids in the neighborhood. On the night of the shooting, Tracy was out to dinner with his fiancée, Brandy Green, while Tracy's and Green's sons stayed at home, watching TV and playing video games. Trayvon went out, walking to a local 7-Eleven store where he bought Skittles candy and an Arizona watermelon drink. As Martin was returning from the store to the Twin Lakes neighborhood, George Zimmerman ,
2553-576: The kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than defuse potential altercations." He stated that "The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws, everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws". It was during these remarks when President Obama said, "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago." On July 19, 2014, Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles
2622-506: The mornings at the high school and then went to George T. Baker Aviation School for the rest of his school day. Martin's ninth-grade teacher, who taught him three classes of Aerospace Technology at Baker Aviation School, said he was a normal student, well-behaved, who passed all his classes. According to another teacher at Carol City, math was his favorite subject, and she said she never saw Martin show disrespect. Some students at Carol City compared Martin's death to that of Emmett Till , one of
2691-434: The nation's most infamous civil rights cases. Martin's mother had him transferred to Dr. Michael M. Krop High School, which has approximately 2,700 students, for his junior year. Fulton said that her son had an average performance in school, and she transferred him because she thought Krop High School was better and she wanted a different environment for him. While a student at Krop High School, Martin had behavioral issues. At
2760-488: The number of signatures reached 10,000, he transferred the petition to Martin's parents after Change.org contacted him. Cunningham was the media coordinator for KinderUSA and said he fell in love with social media during the Egyptian revolution and was inspired by the death of Khaled Said . He thought Martin's death could be a similar situation where the death of one person could trigger a reevaluation of society and revolutionize
2829-612: The parents did not know about the jewelry or screwdriver. Martin was not charged with any crime related to these suspensions and did not have a juvenile record. Martin, known on Twitter by the nickname "Slimm", posted thousands of tweets over a period of months, according to the Miami Herald . Martin tweeted his last message two days before he was shot in February 2012. According to the Herald , Martin's digital footprint portrayed him as having
Trayvon Martin - Misplaced Pages Continue
2898-421: The physical environment of the city and to combat the social and economic problems typical of slum areas. CRAs are funded with property tax increases, which funds are used, in part, to stimulate private investment in the rehabilitation of the community. During the 2026 FIFA World Cup , Hard Rock Stadium will host multiple matches during the tournament. The city was incorporated in 2003, but various parts of
2967-408: The picture on the news, and that she never saw him in public with them on. Another friend from Twitter who had known him since middle school said he was funny and liked to joke around and make people laugh. A professor of media law at the University of Florida , Lyrissa Lidsky, said Martin's social media posts should be taken with a grain of salt because they do not necessarily reflect what a teenager
3036-441: The police chief resigned. Civil rights lawsuits have been filed against the Miami Gardens Police Department by the store owner and others who were illegally detained and/or arrested. A police officer filed a lawsuit claiming that he had been fired for reporting abuses. In 2003, Miami Gardens based Merchandize Liquidators was founded. Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools. Norland Middle School, in
3105-420: The program, he spent the next summer as a volunteer, helping out new students in the aviation program. According to his parents, Martin had hoped to attend the University of Miami or Florida A&M University . When Martin started high school, his goal of playing professional football was put aside in favor of a career working with airplanes. While in his freshman year at Carol City, Martin attended classes in
3174-458: The public relations services of The TASC Group to manage media attention around Martin's death and Zimmerman's subsequent trial. In an interview with New York Times columnist Charles Blow in June, Martin's mother was asked about the texts recovered from her son's cell phone, which "appeared to show a boy who used marijuana, was involved in fights and had a handgun". She said that she was skeptical about
3243-402: The residents of Miami Gardens. Supplementing this, several health care clinics and facilities provide medical services that include general medicine , walk-in/urgent care , dental services, gynecology , physical therapy , chiropractor services, laboratory tests, x-rays , sonograms , osteoporosis screening, vaccinations , and health and exercise programs. Miami Gardens is governed by
3312-542: The role that social media played immediately following Martin's death set a precedent. Crump said that social media had given people who normally would not have a voice in matters like this a chance to engage in the case. O'Mara said the misinformation that was tweeted following Martin's death "caused a firestorm that wasn't a full picture". Tracy Martin said he took his son to Sanford "to disconnect and get his priorities straight". Martin had been to Twin Lakes several times before with his father and sometimes played football with
3381-484: The school. According to the officer, he later observed Martin marking up a door with "W.T.F." ("what the fuck?"). When his backpack was searched the next day by a Miami-Dade School Police officer, looking for the graffiti marker, the officer found a dozen pieces of women's jewelry, a watch, and a screwdriver that was described by the school police officer as a burglary tool. The jewelry found in his backpack included silver wedding bands and earrings with diamonds. When Martin
3450-545: The seriousness it deserves." Mitt Romney , the Republican presidential candidate at the time, said that a full inquiry was needed so that "justice could be carried out with impartiality and integrity". The Project for Excellence in Journalism reported in March that media coverage of the Martin case had become the first news story in 2012 to be reported on more than the presidential race . In June, Martin's parents and members of
3519-455: The shooting, the name Trayvon was tweeted more than two million times. On March 8, Kevin Cunningham, a social media coordinator who had read about Martin's death, created a petition on Change.org , which became the largest in the website's history a few weeks later with 2.2 million signatures. Cunningham said he started the online petition demanding that authorities prosecute Zimmerman, and when
SECTION 50
#17328687974553588-549: The statute, saying Florida residents had a right to defend themselves with deadly force without a duty to retreat if they feel threatened. Stand-your-ground laws were not used as a legal defense in the trial of George Zimmerman and had no legal role in his eventual acquittal. In March 2012, Martin's parents created the Trayvon Martin Foundation, which is dedicated to helping families that have lost children to gun violence. Martin's parents and their legal team enlisted
3657-550: The time of the shooting, Martin was a junior at Krop High School. Martin's cousin Stephen Martin, who had been in a park telling jokes with Trayvon the night before his death, said that he and Trayvon had been like brothers growing up. He recalled that Trayvon had been very skilled at assembling, repairing, and riding pocket bikes and dirt bikes . Miriam Martin, Trayvon's aunt and Stephen's mother, said her nephew had often stayed over to visit her family. She also said that Trayvon
3726-463: The time of the shooting, he was serving a ten-day suspension for having a marijuana pipe and an empty bag containing marijuana residue. He had been suspended twice before, for tardiness and truancy and marking up a door with graffiti. The suspension for graffiti was in October 2011, when Martin was observed by a school police officer on a security camera "hiding and being suspicious" in a restricted area of
3795-523: The trial, although his marijuana use could be. The defense did not present any of this information to the jury, and it was not entered into evidence. Friends of Martin, who had known him from Highland Oaks Middle School and Carol City High School and corresponded with him over Twitter, said Martin was not prone to violence. One friend said he was the "walk away" type of guy: "he'd rather walk away than fight." She also said that she had never seen Martin's purported grills and did not know he had them until she saw
3864-410: The truthfulness of those claims and did not know if they were real or not. She wanted the world to remember him "as just an average teenager, somebody that was struggling through life, but nevertheless had a life". Politicians, celebrities, musicians, civil rights leaders, and citizens all expressed their opinions on every form of media following the acquittal of Zimmerman. Four days after the acquittal,
3933-466: Was 3.52 members, and the city covered 20 square miles (52 km ). As of the 2010 United States census , there were 107,167 people, 32,000 households, and 23,749 families residing in the city. In 2010, 6.0% of households were vacant. According to City Rating, Miami Gardens crime statistics have decreased in the past 13 years. The crimes that have decreased the most are property crimes and violent crimes . The crime rate for Miami Gardens for 2018
4002-524: Was a college student at the time (who would later testify in the Zimmerman trial). After being divorced, Martin's father married Alicia Stanley, who had two daughters from a previous marriage. They met when Martin was about three years old and were together for about 14 years. Stanley told CNN's Anderson Cooper that before she and Tracy Martin separated, Trayvon was with her 90% of the time, and that she went to all his football games and took care of him when he
4071-409: Was asked by the officer if the jewelry belonged to his family or a girlfriend, he said a friend had given it to him. When asked for the name of the friend, Martin declined to provide it. The school police impounded the jewelry and sent photographs of it to detectives at Miami-Dade to investigate it further. No evidence surfaced at that time that the jewelry was stolen. An attorney for Martin's family said
4140-516: Was called the "Walk for Dignity" and ended with a community forum being held and a dedication of the Trayvon Martin memorial at the Goldsboro Westside Historical Museum in Sanford. In Los Angeles, California , an area of a garden at Crenshaw High School was dedicated to Martin in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. 's " I Have a Dream " speech. A march was also held at
4209-555: Was five years old and his team was coached in part by his father. Another of Martin's former football coaches said Martin had been one of the best players on their football team (The Wolverines) that played at Forzano Park in Miramar, Florida . Martin played for the Wolverines from ages 8 to 13 and sometimes sat out because his father benched him "because he messed up in school". While in high school, Martin volunteered at Forzano Park, working in
SECTION 60
#17328687974554278-527: Was fond of wearing a hoodie: "it could be 100 degrees outside and he always had his hoodie on." Martin had wanted to fly or repair airplanes, and in mid-2009 enrolled in "Experience Aviation", a seven-week program in Opa-locka, Florida , run by award-winning aviator Barrington Irving . According to Irving, Martin was a polite youth "[who] reminded me of myself because I had a strong interest in football until I fell in love with aviation." After Martin graduated from
4347-611: Was jailed for 20 days. The guilty plea would validate the officers' improper arrest and increment their quota, so he became a continuous target. It was reported that, between 2008 and 2013, 99,980 stops occurred in Miami Gardens, involving 56,922 people, over half of the city's population. In the City of Miami, 3,753 stops occurred during the same period, with four times the population. Some stops involved children aged 5 to 7, totaling more than 1,000 children. These numbers were compiled after news regarding Earl Sampson. Following these reports,
4416-486: Was like in person. She said a person's online persona may not reflect a true image of who they are, especially with young people. University of Florida criminal law professor Kenneth Nunn said when he was concerned about a person's character, he would look at anything, including what Martin's behavioral traits have been or may have been over time. At a banquet for Associated Press Broadcasters in Florida, Benjamin Crump, and Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's defense attorney, both said
4485-469: Was no evidence to refute his claim of self-defense, and Florida's stand-your-ground law prohibited them from arresting or charging him. After national media focused on the incident, Zimmerman was eventually charged and tried, but a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013. Following Martin's death, rallies, marches, and protests were held across the United States. In March 2012, hundreds of students at his high school held
4554-499: Was scheduled to hold a "peace walk and peace talk" hosted by Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. On May 13, 2017, Martin posthumously received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical science from Florida Memorial University "in honor of the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot". Martin's parents accepted the award for their son. In January 2017, Martin's parents (under Penguin Random House ) published
4623-405: Was sick. She said that Trayvon was a kind and loving person, not a 'thug' as the media portrayed him. When Martin was nine years old, he pulled his father, who had been immobilized by burns to the legs, out of a fire in their apartment, saving his life. Martin enjoyed sports video games . He washed cars, babysat, and cut grass to earn his own money. Martin had played football at the park since he
4692-487: Was walking back to the fiancée's house from a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, saw Martin and reported him to the Sanford Police as suspicious. Several minutes later, an altercation happened and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest. Zimmerman was injured during the altercation with Martin. He said he shot Martin in self-defense and was not charged at the time. The police said there
4761-475: Was widely circulated, while pictures from his account of Martin with a birthday cake, fishing with his father, and dressed in a prom suit were not. The website Gawker obtained a screenshot of Martin's email account inbox before it was deleted, showing emails referring to SAT exams and scholarship opportunities. During Zimmerman's trial, the judge granted defense lawyers access to Martin's cell phone, social media posts, and Facebook and Twitter accounts, saying that
#454545