A street outside the former high school of Trayvon Martin in Miami will be renamed in honor of the 17-year-old who was fatally shot by then neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012. Martin was unarmed and had just left a convenience store after buying candy during a visit to his father’s home.
Zimmerman, who was arrested and tried for the shooting was, however, acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges by a grand jury under the state of Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade commissioners unanimously approved the resolution to rename a section of Northeast 16th Avenue that leads to Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High without discussion last week. Martin attended the school and was in the 11th grade prior to his death.
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The resolution detailed Martin’s life growing up as a resident in the Miami Gardens neighborhood with his mother, Sybrina Fulton, describing him as “a typical teenager who enjoyed playing video games, listening to music, watching movies, and talking and texting on the phone.”
The deceased was also “developing advanced mechanical skills and, among other things, was known to be able to build and fix dirt bikes” and as “a native Floridian”, he “intended to stay close to home and attend college at either the University of Miami or Florida A&M University.”
The resolution also said Martin “intended to pursue a career that would allow him to fly or work with aircraft”, and “that desire was cemented after his participation in Experience Aviation, a program that introduces young people to career opportunities in aviation.” However, his “future dreams and goals were extinguished before he had a chance to achieve them or, even, a real opportunity to live his life.”
Martin’s death triggered protests against racial discrimination and profiling in the United States and was a driving force in the establishment of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The street in question will be renamed the “Trayvon Martin Avenue”, and road signs of the new name will be displayed in the next few weeks, Miami Herald reports.
