Trayvon Martin’s Mother On Racial Profiling: ‘Is It The Hoodie That Really Made The Difference’?

Trayvon Martin’s parents attended a discussion on racial profiling at the University of Utah on Thursday. The back of Dennis Barrett’s shirt read:

Hoody… $35. Skittles + Iced Tea… $2.65. Trayvon’s Life… PRICELESS. I AM TRAYVON MARTIN.

Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, was invited to speak at the University’s 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Fulton addressed the packed room explaining how the loss of her son has affected her life:

“You could not have gotten any more average than my family. I was the average person, but through powers unforeseen to me there was a message… that said there is something wrong with the United States.”

She continued to speak poignantly and painfully about the wider affects of his death:

“There should not become a time when we are comfortable with burying our children. What happened many miles away in Sanford should be uncomfortable for you.”

Fulton then steered the discussion towards the issue at hand – racial profiling. She asked, rhetorically:

“But is it the hoodie that really made the difference? Or the color of his skin?. And if by one second, just by one mere second, we think that it’s the color of his skin, then something is wrong with America.”

She responded to a question which was put to her during the discussion, saying: “I think, at the end of the day, it’s not about Trayvon. It’s about the person who thought he was suspicious.”

Fulton said in response to another question during the discussion: “All you need is positive people. Positive does not come in a color at all.”

The bereaved mother concluded the discussion with some heart-wrenching words about the loss of her son Trayvon Martin:

“I had to look at my son for a final time, all dressed in white as if he’s an angel going to a prom. I will not get a chance to see my son graduate from high school… The upside is I get an opportunity to save somebody else’s child.”