Earlier today (Feb. 5), Sybrina Fulton paid tribute to her late son, Trayvon Martin, on what would have been his 29th birthday.
“Happy heavenly birthday to my sun/sonshine. Just know I do this all for you,” the program coordinator-turned-activist wrote on Instagram. “You will forever be a part of my heart, and even the death of you has not separated my LOVE for you.” In the comments section, several big names offered support to Fulton, including Holly Robinson Peete, Ava DuVernay, Luenell Campbell, Tamika D. Mallory and Tina Knowles.
Since the tragic death of Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman in 2012, Fulton has remained unwavering in her fight for racial equality and gun reform. Alongside ex-husband and Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, she runs the Trayvon Martin Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing “emotional and financial support to families who have lost a child to gun violence.”
“Before I lost Trayvon, I can tell you I was living just a regular life,” she said to New York Magazine‘s The Cut in 2022, 10 years after her son’s passing. “I had not been to a march at all. I’m not telling people, you know, that, ‘Oh, I’ve been this community activist all my life.’ No, I have not.’ Don’t wait till it comes to your front door, like I did.”
Fulton continued, “What makes me angry is the fact that you have so many people that want to do something, but they don’t. You got so many people who comment, and who post, and who are talking heads on the news, and what are they doing? Nothing. You have to be active. You have to participate. You have to get involved. Those are the types of things that make me angry. You can’t just share a story on social media and figure, ‘Okay, I did my part ,’ you know?”