Five years ago Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin publicly loss their 17-year-old son Trayvon Martin. Since that point, the couple has advocated for the end of gun violence through their nonprofit Trayvon Martin Foundation. An organization created after much prayer.
Martin and Fulton both agree that God helped them process the debilitating grief that came with the loss of their teenage son, who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman while walking home.
The couple told TIME magazine, “There is only one way to come out of that dark place, and that is through the power of prayer.”
“I’ve heard people say we were a chosen family. I don’t believe that. I just believe that God doesn’t make any mistakes.”
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The couple has also helped spur a movement and a new voice through the book titled: Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin goes on sale Tuesday, Jan. 31.
"Before he was an icon for justice, Trayvon was a boy."
Join @randomhouse & @blackbirds for #BigIdeasNight w/ the parents of Trayvon Martin pic.twitter.com/ysYyx2WS3B
— Blackbirds (@blackbirds) January 30, 2017
In a segment on ABC’s The View, the couple said February marks five years since they lost their son and the mother of Martin explained the reasoning behind their decision to publish the book.
She said, this book is “our feelings about how parents feel when they lose a child.”
And in response to the question asked on the segment about forgiving the shooter, Fulton says, “I absolutely feel that way (wanting to forgive). I haven’t gotten to that point yet to forgive. Even though the calendar says it’s been five years, it doesn’t feel like five years. There’s still a big hole in my heart.”
#TrayvonMartin Father Tracy Martin Speaking at #CongressionalBlackCaucus #CBALC2016 @BTraymartin9 @circleoffathers pic.twitter.com/P0hcKBZfn8
— Thabiti Boone (@ThabitiBoone) September 15, 2016
And when it comes to the future and improving the racial climate in this country, Martin said,”we need to start understanding each other. In order to start understanding each other we need to sit down and be able to talk with each other.”
“I don’t know how you live in your household if I don’t sit down and converse with you. So it starts with dialogue and understanding one another.”
Looking forward to hearing our own @BTraymartin9 speak to to the young men of #ChangeMakersAcademy in @CityofMiramar pic.twitter.com/mTDyTnm8kw
— Circle of Fathers (@circleoffathers) June 18, 2016
The anticipated book will discuss the lasting imprint left by the shooting on their family and the love their son had for life as well as his family.
To honor Martin, the parents will hold a Trayvon Martin Foundation Peace Walk and Peace Talk in their Florida community on Feb. 5.
Join the PeaceWalk wear your T-shirt to represent your organization, club, sorority, fraternity, church or school.
#TrayvonMartin4ever pic.twitter.com/akhtj4M3b6— Sybrina Fulton (@SybrinaFulton) January 17, 2017
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Other Must Reads:
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A Year of Grief and Grace for Charleston Church
Famed Christian Rapper Lecrae’s Raw Open Letter About Race and the ‘Pains of Humanity’