LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Sybrina Fulton brings her message to Louisville.
“I want to make sure that we are strengthening our community and strengthening our families,” she said.
Fulton said she’s ready to have the tough and sometimes uncomfortable conversations to ensure cities are moving in the right direction.
“I certainly do believe that some eyes were opened with my son’s tragedy,” she said.
Fulton’s son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, was killed in 2012 in Sanford, Florida.
George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch member, said he shot the teen in self-defense. Zimmerman ultimately went on trial for Trayvon’s death but was not found guilty.
The case ignited a conversation about race and law enforcement across the country and was one of the catalysts for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I just think our young people are going to be the change that we need. We need to make some positive change and I think it’s going to be our young people – they are going to do it for us,” she said.
Young people, including students, are mobilizing for tougher gun laws after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Fulton said kids should feel safe no matter where they are.
“I think that there needs to be more gun control. I don’t think the answer is arming everybody with guns,” she said.
Fulton has played a role in advocacy since Martin’s death, starting the Trayvon Martin Foundation to end gun violence and strengthen families.
“Me as a parent, I still have to fight, you know. I have to fight for my son that’s in heaven and I have to fight for my son that’s on Earth,” she said.
It was Fulton’s purpose of coming to Louisville – to share a story she hopes will end in a life being saved.