MIAMI – Sybrina Fulton, the mother of the murdered Trayvon Martin, the African-American teenager who was gunned down by a private guard in 2012 in Florida, announced her candidacy for the Miami-Dade County Commission, local media reported Sunday.
Fulton, who since the death of her son became an activist in favor of social justice and the end of violence with firearms, said that since the year of the death of her son she has “tirelessly advocated to strengthen our communities and make them safer, but the work is not done. “
“I am proud to announce that I will apply to represent District 1 on the county commission,” he said in a statement released Saturday.
Miami-Dade County Electoral District 1 includes the cities of Miami Gardens and Opa-locka, affected by firearm and youth gang events, and its 13-member council representative is Barbara Jordan, whose term will end in 2020
For the elections of 2020 Miami Gardens Mayor, Oliver Gilbert, has also announced his candidacy for this district.
“Our county must continue to move forward so that our families are safe from violence, can afford to live in Miami-Dade and have access to well-paid jobs,” added Fulton, who together with her husband leads the Trayvon Martin Foundation and will make an announcement. formal on Monday.
Fulton, who in the 2016 general election supported the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, is a strong advocate for greater control over private arms sales, especially with regard to background checks.
His son, Trayvon, died at the age of 17 of a shot fired by private watchman George Zimmerman, who in the judicial process alleged that he acted in self-defense, a thesis accepted by the popular jury of the Sanford (Florida) court, where the event, which acquitted him in July 2013.
The death of the adolescent and the subsequent acquittal of Zimmerman is considered the first of a series of episodes that have stoked the debate on race relations in the United States and the use of firearms by the civilian population. (EFEUSA)
