Seven years after the murder of her son, Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, decides to take matters into her own hands by running for office.
What We Know:
- Trayvon Martin was killed in 2012. It wasn’t until after the acquittal of his murderer George Zimmerman, that Sybrina Fulton started to take action. In the last seven years, Fulton has served as a spokesperson against gun violence and for gun reform. She’s spent her time traveling the country telling her story.
- In her speeches Fulton has often said “[I] had to do more than just cry.” She spoke from a place of honesty about what she and her family went through regarding Trayvon’s death. Unfortunately, the heartbreaking story was similar to many families in the crowd. By the end of her testimony, Fulton would call those around her to action. She’d say, “You might have to protest. You might have to march. You might have to run for office.”
- According to her campaign manager, Willis Howard, she finally realized that during her speeches she was talking to herself. Running against Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver G. Gilbert III, Fulton plans to keep gun violence prevention at the front of her campaign. Howard also feels Fulton’s 23 years as an employee of Miami-Dade County will benefit her as well.
- Fulton is one of the three mothers involved in the “Mothers of the Movement”. The other moms include Lucy McBath, Jordan Davis’s mother, and Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown’s mother. These three moms decided to ban together and be the strength and voice for those in similar situations. They have all made strides in their own way towards the cause of gun violence prevention. Last November, McBath won a seat in the House running as a Democrat in Georgia, and McSpadden quit her job as a flight attendant and became the national spokeswoman of EveryTown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Sybrina Fulton and her husband Tracy Martin have been pondering running for office since 2017, it wasn’t until Monday that Fulton officially made her announcement to run for Miami-Dade County Comissioner.
