From Showing Up for Racial Justice (http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/):
Five years ago today, Trayvon Martin’s extrajudicial murder and his family’s commitment to ending gun violence and strengthening communities catalyzed a generation of organizers and activists to take action for Black lives.
Five years later, the same conditions that led to Trayvon’s death have been exacerbated under the Trump administration. Anti-Blackness is pervasive and implicit, and Black children and adults continue to be put on trial for their own murders.
The perceptions of Black people and Blackness, both in America and globally, have resulted in the refusal to acknowledge the unique cultural contributions of Black people. Moreover, they perpetuate prejudice, deadly policing, racist legislation, and interpersonal violence.
Trayvon Martin’s death sparked a movement. Join us in remembering him. Here’s how:
#TalkAboutTrayvon digital toolkit and campaign: SURJ is proud to share the #TalkAboutTrayvon toolkit in partnership with the Black Lives Matter Global Movement to launch a conversation among white people about the conditions that led to the extrajudicial murder of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman. White communities are used to consciously and unconsciously maintain the racist policies and practices that led to Travyon’s death — and the time is now to have courageous conversations with friends and family members about who Trayvon Martin was and why he’s dead.
- Link to the #TalkAboutTrayvon Toolkit for White People: http://rememberingtrayvon.com/talkabouttrayvon/
- Link to the #TalkAboutTrayvon Toolkit for White People in PDF form for printing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0pJEXffvS0uTklXNEdzMTVfRThHblNLckZfMXY3RkpXQXhz/view
- Link to shareable graphics: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0pJEXffvS0ubXo3al9kUldWQlE
- Link to #TrayvonTaughtMe Toolkit, designed for people of color: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0pJEXffvS0uNHlsQzlqNjBZcVU/view
- Link to #TrayvonTaughtMe Toolkit in Spanish: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0pJEXffvS0uUXF5R3prek5UeTg/view
#DearTrayvonsMom letter-writing campaign: When law enforcement and vigilantes target and kill Black children with impunity, Black parents are stripped of their right to parent their children into adulthood. Remembering Trayvon Martin five years after his murder, Black Lives Matter is soliciting love letters to Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother. We have commissioned Black artists committed to commemorating Trayvon’s life and the movement he catalyzed, and we will present the love letter to Sybrina in the form of an art installation on Mother’s Day. Use #DearTrayvonsMom on any social sharing site and share your love with Sybrina and ask your network to do the same.
#OurSonTrayvon campaign: In collaboration with Gbenga Akkinagbe, founder of Liberated People (http://www.weareliberated.com/), and activist-writer Michaela Angela Davis, BLM is supporting the launch of the #OurSonTrayvon campaign, whose goal is to create a sustainable movement humanizing Black children in the collective imagination. Liberated People is donating 15 percent of the proceeds of the #OurSonTrayvon Hoodie to the Trayvon Martin Foundation.
Link to buy the Trayvon hoodie: http://www.weareliberated.com/products/tryvon-hoodie
As we reflect today on not only the violence inflicted on Trayvon Martin and his family but also on the liberation-focused movement that has risen up as a result, it’s vitally important that we talk with our friends and family about race and racial justice. Take time today to use the toolkit to have those conversations in Trayvon’s memory.
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