Two years after Trayvon Martin’s killing ignited a passionate debate about race, the slain teen’s parents are hosting a memorial gathering today in Davie, Fla., bringing together community leaders, celebrities and other supporters, the Daily News reports.
The gathering, described as a gala event and sponsored by the Trayvon Martin Foundation, is the culmination of a memorial weekend that included a rally on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla. The rally was attended by hundreds and included stirring addresses by the likes of actor Jamie Foxx, who sought to elevate the tragedy beyond race.
“It’s not about race nor color, but peace for our children,” said Foxx, according to tweets from the march.
The turnout on Saturday came on what would have been three days after Trayvon’s 19th birthday. Others who participated in the rally served with their presence as powerful reminders of the grim toll of racially charged violence.
On hand, for example, was the family of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy whose death at the hands of a white mob in 1955 helped propel the cause of civil rights into American consciousness. He was killed after flirting with a white girl.
Also present was the family of Oscar Grant, 22, who was fatally shot in Oakland, Calif., on New Year’s Day 2009 by a BART police officer while in handcuffs. The incident inspired the film Fruitvale Station.
Trayvon was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood-watch captain, while returning home from a walk to the store in February 2012. Zimmerman was acquitted last summer of second-degree murder in Trayvon’s death.
Read more at the Daily News.