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Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, who became an advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement after her son was senselessly slaughtered by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman five years ago in Sanford, Fla., says that not enough is being done to save the lives of black children who continue to die in shootings.

Local 10 reports that Fulton said that when she heard that George Zimmerman said he killed her 17-year-old son because he felt threatened, she was determined not to be a victim, and in a new book called Rest in Power, she and Tracy Martin, Trayvons father, share their journey from despair to activism.

While speaking at her alma mater, Miamis Norland High School, Fulton said that she did not want Trayvons death to become just another homicide. But even with her new book and the work shes doing with the foundation she created in her sons name, she believes its still not enough, so she is considering a run for office.

I am considering running for office ... I can do my best, Fulton said.

Fulton joined Local 10s My Future, My Choice, an effort aimed at raising awareness about the need to end the ongoing cycle of violence in Miami, at a town hall Friday, which some of the cast members of Moonlight also attended.

Having gotten a taste of politics when she campaigned for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton last year, Fulton now thinks she is ready to do her part by running for office.

The only thing I can do is try, Fulton told Local 10. And I am not afraid to try.

Read more at Local 10.

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Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin, Says Not Enough Is Being Done to Save the Lives of Black Children ... - The Root

Published Jun 6, 2017 at 4:26 pm (Updated Jun 6, 2017)

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There has been so much written over the past few weeks regarding George Zimmerman as a talking point referring to the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. The bill, also known as H.R. 38 would allow people from states with very lax requirements to carry hidden loaded guns in states with much higher standards, like New Jersey.

No matter what you think of the Zimmerman case, it was a horrible, unfortunate situation where no one won. We can re-litigate it to death but the facts are Trayvon Martin is dead and George Zimmermans life has spiraled out of control. If H.R. 38, Concealed Carry Reciprocity is passed into law these types of incidents will be more prevalent in our country. That alone is great reason to oppose this dangerous legislation.

In New Jersey to conceal carry a gun in public, a person needs to apply for a permit, submit 3 letters of character reference, prove under oath a justifiable need for the firearm and complete several firearms training courses. As a result of our strong gun laws, we have the 5th lowest number of gun deaths per capita in the U. S.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity would force New Jersey to accept concealed carry weapon permits issued by states with more lax requirements. Here are some reasons this is not a good idea:

Twenty-one states issue permits to convicted stalkers.

Twenty states allow individuals who have been convicted of crimes of violence to obtain concealed carry permits

In Texas alone, more than 400 criminals (including armed robbers and rapists) were issued permits between 1995 2000, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Florida has more than 1 million concealed carry permit holders. An Orlando Sentinel analysis of a six-month period in Florida reported that CCW permits were issued to more than 1,400 felons, 216 people with outstanding warrants, 128 people with active domestic violence injunctions against them, and six registered sex offenders.

National concealed carry reciprocity legislation is opposed by key law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence and many others. The District Attorney of New York City, Cyrus Vance Jr. recently remarked, Its a terrible idea, we dont want shootouts in the middle of Manhattan.

There is no credible evidence to show that lax concealed carry laws reduce crime. Claims that guns are used defensively millions of times a year have also been widely discredited. It is rare when a gun is used in self-defense.

I urge readers to contact their Congressional Representative and urge them to oppose the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, H.R. 38. You can reach Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen at 973-984-0711 and Josh Gottheimer at 888-216-5646.

The mission of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is to create a safer America by cutting gun deaths in half by 2025. The strategy centers on the idea of saving lives by keeping guns out of dangerous peoples hands.

Sue Hannon

President, Sussex County Chapter

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

Sparta, NJ

Read more here:
Concealed carry reciprocity is dangerous for New Jersey - The Sparta Independent

An NYPD officer during the NYC Pride March on June 26, 2016 in New York City. Eric Thayer / Getty Images

Rodney Diverlus, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, pointed to the fraught history between police and black communities, as well as queer communities, in his response to GOALs invitation.

I think its outrageous to be honest with you, Diverlus said in an interview with NBC Out. This is coming from one of the most violent police forces in the world, the NYPD, and it just shows the lack of commitment from our police force to be addressing any of the real issues with this action.

BLM has been protesting police brutality since its inception in 2013, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida.

In March of last year, BLM

The invitation from New York police to Toronto police does nothing to better the relations between police forces and black communities. Were talking about how black and queer people face violence from police and how queer communities can be more inclusive to black communities, Diverlus said. Were talking about life and death.

Related:

James Fallarino, a spokesman for the NYC Pride March organizers, noted in an interview with NBC Out that the invitation to the Toronto Police Service did not come from NYC Pride organizers. However, he said GOAL was welcome to invite whomever they'd like.

Our policy around the NYC Pride March is that anybody who wishes to register can do so, and then theyre welcome to invite anyone they like to march with them, he explained. In the context of that, we look forward to having police officers from all over representing GOAL.

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After Toronto Pride Exclusion, Canadian Cops Invited to Attend NYC March - NBCNews.com

By HENRY FREDERICK

Headline Surfer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --For a little more than a decade now, CentralFlorida'smajor news outlets have long since become the servant to the master of the microphone and video camera -- Mike Chitwood -- the reality star of law enforcement media theatrics.

But how well do any of us real ever know someone in a position of public trust and who wieldspoliticalpower. Often, it is someone who comes across as engaging and above reproach.

Consider foul-mouthed Mike Chitwood, Volusia County' s sheriff since January and ex-Daytona Beach PD chief,who, in the past10 1/2 years, has had more face time in the Central Florida media spotlight than any othernewsmaker alongthe I-4 corridor -- from Disney and the Attractions to the rollingocean surfand hard sands of the World's Most Famous Beach.

Chitwood has hogged the spotlight more thanTiger Woods andShaquille O'Neal. More than Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.More than Dwight Howard,Grant Hill andVince Carter. And way more than John Morgan of Morgan and Morgan and auto accident negligenceattorney Mark Nejame.

Chitwood has George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony beat. It's not even close, even when they are combined. Chitwood even created his own theatricalOscar moment by coaxing a despondent George Anthony from a seedy beachside motel in favor of a waiting bed in the psych ward at Halifax Hospital just up the road from Daytona International Speedway.

But for all the attention he has generated tin the media as a tough talking, no-nonsense top cop, there appears to be a dark side that with aperverse, in the Chitwood also has a darksidetherhere appears to be a dark side to him that with a subtle hints that is beccwhat dohere appears to be a dark side to Chitwood

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FARCE BEHIND THE FORCE: Daytona Beach's Mike Chitwood, Central Florida's vulgar microphone-media lawman du ... - Headline Surfer

Untitled (Durag 1)John Edmonds

Untitled (Durag 1) John Edmonds

When photographer John Edmonds first started taking portraits, he worked from a tried-and-true script. Pose your subject, frame the face or body, and attempt to capture their unique individual essence. Then he started to envision a different way to approach portraiture. Edmonds wanted to use the art form to challenge peoples preconceptions about race and cultural identity.

In many of Edmonds more recent portraits, the subject is often covered or obscured. Men are seen from behind, wearing Do-rags or hooded sweatshirts. The only distinguishing features (if any) are a tiny tuft of hair or the outline of a shoulder.

In my work, the black body is a sight for contemplation, instead of the individual representing specifically who they are, he tells TIME. I talk about the work in terms of symbolismmy Hoods work and Do-ragsand looking at both of these articles of clothing as symbols.

While some might see the Hoods series as a blatant play on the narrative of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old shot by George Zimmerman, Edmonds says that the pictures arent so much about that event in particular, but about the preconceptions people have surrounding hooded sweatshirts and what they indicate about the wearer. A subject may fit a certain description, but there are all these other elements that pull you out of that description which are related to racial profiling. I experimented with how a photograph could probe those questions.

In another series titled, All Eyes On Me, a man with a covered nose and mouth gazes at the camera or slightly to the left or right. The series is presented as a succession of 40 almost identical near-frames. As the viewer walks around the gallery space, the mans gaze seems to follow. This intense eye contact might cause some to feel uncomfortable. Edmonds says that this interaction between subject and viewer is where the true reflection starts. He has such a piercing gaze that you have to look closely at this individual," he says. "Your imagination starts to roam. This is a recurring theme in all of my workthe gaze being flipped back onto the viewer.

For Edmonds, some level of anonymity is paramount. A lot of people that I photograph are strangers to me, he says. I dont have an immediate relationship to them. They are often people that I encounter when Im riding on a bus or walking down the street. I have an interest in protecting the individual. I want to veil the identity or specificity of the person, mostly implicating the viewer in the work, so that when they are looking at the figure its more about who theyre projecting the figure to be.

In a day and age where brash, action-filled imagery is often prized, Edmonds says he believes that subtlety can be a much more effective way to communicate. Visual art has an interesting way of becoming part of public discourse. People do see my Hoods images and immediately think of Trayvon Martin. I think the power of the work is its quietness. The photos are nuanced. They have a greater impact because of how they sit in your mind.

John Edmonds is an artist and photographer based in Brooklyn.

Myles Little, who edited this photo essay, is a senior photo editor at TIME.

Janna Dotschkal is a freelance writer based in Washington.

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How One Photographer Is Challenging Our Perceptions of Black Men - TIME