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For the upcoming anniversary of the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2012, ABC News takes a look back at the Black Lives Matter movement. The phrase "Black Lives Matter" was born in a Facebook post by Alicia Garza in response to the July 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Martin. The movement emerged as a reaction to the perceived violence and systemic racism by police toward African-American communities.

A man argues with a police officer over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, in New York, July 14, 2013.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Florida neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin on July 13, 2013, sparking fury across the country. His acquittal is credited with beginning the Black Lives Matter movement, which first started as a hashtag on social media. To show solidarity, activists began wearing hooded sweatshirts as Trayvon Martin had been wearing the night he died.

Sam Hill, 11, wipes away tears during a youth service at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford, Florida, July 14, 2013. Many in the congregation wore shirts with a photo of Martin.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Photo

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, 43, died on Staten Island, New York, after he was stopped by several officers who put him in what has been described as a chokehold. His last words, I cant breathe, became a slogan for Black Lives Matter and other protesters.

Logan Browning stands with duct tape over her mouth with other demonstrators during a protest against police violence in Hollywood, California, Dec. 6, 2014.

Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters

A year later, on Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. Protests in the St. Louis area went on for weeks following the shooting, and the Black Lives Matter movement helped organize demonstrations across the country. Wilson was not indicted, and that announcement set off another wave of protests in November of that year.

Tear gas surrounds a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air after a protest for Michael Brown, Aug. 17, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Patrisse Cullors, one of the cofounders of the Black Lives Matter movement, emphasized the importance of photography being used by activists on social media to represent the movement. "These images have shaped the ideas about our movement. We have seen black folks resist tear gas, rubber bullets, and racist elected officials. The images have provided hope and strength," she told ABC News.

A demonstrator throws a tear gas container during a protest over the shooting death of Michael Brown, Aug. 13, 2014, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP Photo

Patrisse Cullors said that through images of the movement she sees "the urgency in Black America, the fight, resilience, rage and desperation."

Police fire tear gas during a protest over the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 18, 2014.

David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris

Protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 20, 2014.

Jeff Roberson/AP Photo

A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit by an eye irritant from police in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 20, 2014, during the protests over the death of Michael Brown.

Adrees Latif/Reuters

Michael Brown Sr. cries out as his son's casket is lowered into the ground at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, Aug. 25, 2014.

Richard Perry/Reuters

Pastor Charles Burton lies on the driveway at the Ferguson, Missouri, police station as a chalk drawing is made as a memorial to Michael Brown, Oct. 13, 2014.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

Months after Michael Browns death, Laquan McDonald, 17, was shot 16 times and killed on Oct. 20, 2014, in Chicago. Protests broke out after police dashcam footage was released showing the fatal exchange between the police officer and McDonald, appearing to contradict officers accounts.

Demonstrators hold a "Laquan" sign, Nov. 24, 2015, in Chicago following the release of police dashcam video of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. He was charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. As of Jan. 29, he is awaiting trial.

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images

On Nov. 25., 2014, a grand jury decided there was not enough probable cause to indict police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, leading to more protests across the U.S. In this photo, police Sgt. Bret Barnum hugs 12-year-old Devonte Hart during a demonstration calling for police reform in Portland, Oregon.

Johnny Nguyen

Bishop Derrick Robinson, who had become a notable leader among the Ferguson protesters, was arrested by riot police while protesting in a public park after a non-violent march outside a football game, Nov. 30, 2014, in St. Louis.

Natalie Keyssar

Just before the controversial grand jury decision in the Michael Brown shooting case, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot to death in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014. Tamir was playing with a toy gun in a public park when officers mistook it for a real gun, and Officer Timothy Loehmann shot him at point-blank range seconds after arriving on the scene.

In December 2015, protesters took to the streets of downtown Cleveland the day after the local grand jury decided not to indict Loehmann and his partner.

Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

People join in the National March Against Police Violence, which was organized by the National Action Network, Dec. 13, 2014, in New York. The march coincided with a march in Washington, D.C., following two grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of unarmed African-American men by police.

Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Protesters congregate at the Alameda County Court House during a Millions March demonstration protesting the killing of unarmed African-American men by police, Dec. 13, 2014, in Oakland, California. The march was one of many held nationwide.

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

People join hands during the National March Against Police Violence, which proceeded down Broadway to the headquarters of the New York Police Department Dec. 13, 2014, in New York.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Demonstrators stage a die-in at the Chicago Water Tower in Chicago during a march along the Magnificent Mile shopping district on Michigan Avenue to protest police abuse, Dec. 13, 2014.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Photographer Sheila Pree Bright said, From this particular protest it showed me how young people from all backgrounds came together in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I truly believe the young people are the ones who will bring about true change.

Children carry signs during a demonstration organized for Michael Brown calling for national solidarity in Ferguson, Missouri, March 20, 2015.

Sheila Pree Bright

Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets again following the fatal shooting of Walter Scott, whose coffin is seen above. Scott, 50, was pulled over for a broken tail light, April 4, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina, and subsequently shot and killed by Officer Michael Slager. Cellphone video recorded by a passerby appears to show Scott being shot in the back as he is running away, seemingly contradicting the officers testimony and sparking outrage nationwide. Slagers first state criminal trial ended in a hung jury. His federal civil rights trial is scheduled for this spring.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Two weeks after Walter Scotts shooting, Freddie Gray, 25, died, April 19, 2015, after his arrest a week earlier by Baltimore police. An autopsy concluded that his death was caused by a "high-energy" injury to his neck and spine that likely occurred while Gray was in the back of the police van.

Hundreds of demonstrators march toward the Baltimore Police Western District station during a protest against police brutality and the death of Gray in the Sandtown neighborhood April 22, 2015, in Baltimore.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Though the medical examiner ruled Freddie Grays death a homicide, none of the six officers charged were found guilty. Each officer was given a separate trial. One ended in a mistrial, three resulted in aquittals and then all remaining charges were dropped.

People wait for the bus while police secure Mondawmin Mall, April 29, 2015, in Baltimore, where riots broke out on the day of Freddie Grays funeral. A state of emergency was issued and National Guard troops were deployed following the violent gathering where people threw objects at police, set cars on fire and looted businesses.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Photographer Devin Allen's photo from the Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore on April 25, 2015 made the cover of Time magazine's May 11, 2015, issue with the year "1960" crossed out and replaced with "2015" with the text "What Has Changed and What Hasn't." Allen first published the image on his Instagram and Twitter accounts after being unable to get his images from other protests published. "I used Instagram, Twitter to get my photos out. Social media is a game changer for journalism. It gives people that cant be heard a voice," he said.

Devin Allen

A boy looks out a bus window at a line of National Guard and police officers in riot gear in the Winchester-Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, May 1, 2015, after charges were announced for six officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.

Gabriella Demczuk

People celebrate after charges were announced against the police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray in the Winchester-Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore, May 2, 2015. Marilyn Mosby, states attorney for Baltimore, indicted all six officers involved with criminal charges, stating that Gray's death was a homicide case.

Gabriella Demczuk

A partially burned American flag lays on the street near the spot where Michael Brown was killed before an event to mark the one-year anniversary of his death in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 9, 2015. Hundreds of people marched, prayed and held moments of silence in Ferguson to mark the anniversary.

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Mecca Verde, 18, stands with other demonstrators of the Black Lives Matter movement at the Inner Harbor protesting the confirmation of Kevin Davis as the new Baltimore city police commissioner in Baltimore, Oct. 19, 2015. Protesters opposed his confirmation, stating that he did not reach out to residents to learn the issues plaguing their community after the riots in April and the steady rise in homicides.

Gabriella Demczuk

Philando Castile, 32, was shot multiple times by police Officer Jeronimo Yanez after being pulled over for a broken tail light, July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The gruesome aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting next to him in the car when he was killed. On Nov. 16, 2016, Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. He is awaiting trial.

Demonstrators march to protest the shooting death of Philando Castile, July 9, 2016, in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

People protest the police shootings during five days of demonstrations on July 11, 2016, in Atlanta following the deaths of Philando Castile outside St. Paul and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Sterling was shot and killed while pinned to the ground during an altercation with two police officers outside a convenience store on July 5, 2016. Crowds gathered in protest after a graphic video of the incident was posted online. The officers involved in Sterlings death have yet to have charges brought against them, but as of July 7, 2016, a civil rights investigation was opened by the DOJ.

Sheila Pree Bright

Dallas Police Chief David Brown pauses at a prayer vigil following the deaths of five police officers during a Black Live Matter march, July 8, 2016, in Dallas, Texas.

Five police officers were killed and seven others were injured in a coordinated ambush at an anti-police brutality demonstration in Dallas following the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. The gunman, Micah Xavier Johnson, who was black, had previously expressed anger at police and white people. After a standoff he was killed when police detonated an explosive strapped to a robot.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 9, 2016.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Ieshia Evans is detained by law enforcement in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 9, 2016, during a demonstration following the shooting of Alton Sterling.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was killed, Sept. 20, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Brentley Vinson, an African-American police officer. Police stated that Scott had a handgun and did not comply with the officer's instructions to "drop the weapon." Kerr Putney, chief of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, said that a handgun was seized at the scene.

Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott, 43, in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 20, 2016.

Adam Rhew/Charlotte Magazine/Reuters

Attorney General Loretta Lynch launched an investigation into Keith Lamont Scott's shooting death with the DOJ and found officer Brentley Vinson "acted lawfully" and no charges were brought against him.

Police officers face off with protesters during protests in the early hours of Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The shooting sparked a week of sometimes violent demonstrations which caused some businesses to close, the deployment of National Guard troops and the declaration of a state of emergency by Gov. Pat McCrory.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A woman smears blood on a police riot shield, Sept. 21, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Demonstrators attempt to make their way onto Interstate 277 to block traffic as they march in the streets amid a heavy police and National Guard presence as they protest the death of Keith Lamont Scott, Sept. 22, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Brian Blanco/Getty Images

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Black Lives Matter: A movement in photos - ABC News

The memorial to Trayvon Martin, Goldsboro, Sanford. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE

Its been five years since the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Sanford became the focal point for the worlds media as protesters demanded an arrest for the shooter, George Zimmerman. And the spotlight stayed on Sanford the following year as a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of murder.

The shooting and its aftermath put pressure on the citys police department and highlighted tensions between the police and the historic African American community of Goldsboro.

The cityreached out to African American and white faith leaders to try to help heal some of the divisions in the community.

Pastor Lowman Oliver from St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Reverend Charlie Holt from St. Peters Church in Lake Mary, Francis Oliver, chief curator at the Goldsboro History Centerand Frank Hale,president of the Greater Sanford regional chamber of commerce joinIntersection to talk about community building and race relations in Sanford today.

Intersections Matthew Peddie also sat down with police chief Cecil Smith and mayor Jeff Triplett to talk about what the city has done to address those divisions. Interview here.

The rest is here:
Intersection: Race Relations In Sanford - Intersection - Local News ... - WMFE

By Rene Stutzman| Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD Francis Oliver took to the streets of Sanford with more than 8,000 other people, demanding the arrest of the man who killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old.

When Trayvons killer went on trial the following year, she cooked meals for his parents and let them take naps at her home.

Black Lives Matter was not created before Trayvon Martin, said the 73-year-old activist. Black Lives Matter was created after Trayvon Martin.

Specifically, the phrase was coined on July 13, 2013,the day a Seminole County jury acquitted George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who shot Trayvon after calling 911 and describing himas suspicious. Zimmermanhad been arrested six weeks after the shooting and charged with second-degree murder.

That shooting was five years ago this week.

It unleashed a firestorm of public protest, not just in Sanford, but in major cities across the United States and beyond: In Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and London.

Ese Ighedosa, 29, now an attorney for the NFL, was a protester and a student at the Florida A&M University College of Law in Orlando at the time of the shooting. She was at Sanford City Hall with Trayvons parents the night city officials played a 911 call for them that captured cries for help and then a shot.

This was really the resurgence of the civil rights movement, she said.

Renewed civil rights activism

When Zimmerman shot Trayvon, Barack Obama had been in the White House for three years and, Many Americans felt that we were in a post-racial era, said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist who came to Sanford twice in March 2012 to lead rallies calling for Zimmermans arrest.

Sharpton got involved, he said, because I realized how vulnerable we were, that this guy wasnt even a policeman, and he could just kill this kid and not even be arrested. Thats what outraged me.

He said he doesnt think young black men are better off now than they were when Trayvon was shot, but there is one big change: the movement led to accountability. He said people now demand answers when police kill young black men, and theyre willing to take to the streets in protest.

The demonstrations, the rallies that many of us came and started led into what later happened two years later around Ferguson (Mo.), around Eric Garner; but it started, the seeds of that started in Trayvon Martin, so Trayvon Martinenergizeda renewal of civilrights activismin the21stcentury like Emmett Till energizedit in the 20th century, Sharpton said.

Key figures in the case: Where are they now?

Government data indicates that in Central Florida, life has improved for young black men in some ways but gottenworse in others since Trayvon was killed.

Their unemployment rate in Orange County is down 38 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the rate at which they graduate from high school is up sharply in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia and Brevard counties, as it is for all students, according to the Florida Department of Education. The Florida Departmentof Economic Oppportunity had no unemployment numbers for black men ages 15 to 25 in Seminole County in those years.

But the poverty ratefor black males, ages 15 to 25, is 3 percent higher in those same six counties, the census bureau reported.

The number of black males ages 15 to 25 who are the victims of homicide in Central Florida has seesawed since 2012, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That year, Trayvon was one of 31. In 2015, the most recent year for which data is available, the number was 35.

Trayvons death: The No. 1 story in the country

A few days after the shooting, Trayvons father, Tracy Martin, hired Tallahassee civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump and went on national television with their story: An unarmed black high school kid who was doing nothing unlawful was fatally shot, and Sanford police wouldnt arrest the light-skinned Hispanic man who did it.

Local members of the black community, including Francis Oliver, and others called for Zimmermans arrest.

He went into hidingbut cooperated with police. He told themthat he shot Trayvon in self-defense. The Miami Gardens teenager had punched him, knocked him to the ground then climbed on top and begun hammering his head against a sidewalk, he said.

Photos showed him with a swollen nose and blood coming from the back of his head.

Sanfords police chief at the time, Bill Lee Jr., said there wasnt enough evidence to justify an arrest but that his investigators were still working the case.

Reporters from the Orlando Sentinel, The New York Times, CNN and more than a dozen other news organizations flooded into Sanford, and the rallies got bigger.

Busloads of people came from Atlanta to a rally headlined by Sharpton that drew an estimated 8,000 people. A week later, Sharpton returned and was joined on stage by another civil rights icon, Jesse Jackson.

The president of the national NAACP also came to Sanfordand demanded that the police chief be fired and he eventually was.

According to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, for two weeks, when the people it polled were asked to name the most important story in the news, the No. 1 answer was the Trayvon Martin shooting.

On March 19, 2012, Ighedosa, the NFL lawyer, and about 75 other protesters marched outside the Seminole County Criminal courthouse. They insisted upon and got a sit-down meeting with the countys lead prosecutor.

The shooting and protests surrounding it were life-changing. That showed me how powerful my voice is and also what my responsibility is to speak out.

On March 22, 2012, Gov. Rick Scott appointed a special prosecutor Angela Corey of Jacksonville and three weeks later she charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder.

Everything changed

Zimmerman hired Orlando lawyer Mark OMara to defend him. The experience changed his life, OMara said. He got a national reputation, andCNN hired him as a legal expert, a contract now in its fourth year.

Once I said Id represent George Zimmerman, from that date forward, everything changed, OMara said. Trial preparation consumed the next year of his life; then came the five-week trial.

His exposurealso made him a sought-after attorney arguing for the civil rights for young black men, a dramatic departure from his most famous case. He has been hired by the family of a 21-year-old black man who died after being repeatedly Tased while in a restraint chair in a Savannah, Ga. jail; by the family of a 27-year-old black man who was shot by a Houston police officer while in a mental ward; and by the family of a 43-year-old black man who was killed by a University of Cincinnati officer whos awaiting trial on a murder charge.

Now I do speaking engagements throughout the country, internationally, actually, and I have all these civil rights cases. I really considerit a blessing to have an opportunity to have a voice in civil rights matters.

Zimmerman, 34, would not comment about the anniversary of Trayvons death. In addition to his acquittal in state court,he was cleared of federal civil rights charges following a grand jury investigation.

Stand Your Ground

Curtis Hierro, 29 of Orlando, took part in a 31-day sit-in at the State Capitol in Tallahassee shortly after Zimmermans acquittal.

I see the murder of Trayvon Martin as an awful moment that I think stirred many folks to action, he said.

He and other protesters were calling for the repeal of Floridas Stand Your Ground law, which provides immunity to anyone who uses deadly force as long as they have a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury.

Their efforts failed. This year a measure is moving through both houses of the Legislature that would strengthen the law and make it harder for prosecutors to win Stand Your Ground hearings.

Sharpton wants the law repealed as well, and not just in Florida.

The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964, he said, nine years after Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus, an act that launched the Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama. Sharpton said he is hopeful that Stand Your Ground laws will be repealed.

I think were going to see it, he said. Were not going to give up.

82904532

Gal Tziperman Lotan contributed to this report.

rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6394

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Trayvon Martin: Five years after his death, struggle for civil rights continues - Orlando Sentinel

Miami Herald (blog)

Trayvon Martin had to be guilty of something, right? Miami Herald (blog) George Zimmerman was the first to make that reduction when he stalked Trayvon through a gated community despite a police dispatcher advising him to stay with his car. Then the police did it, testing the shooting victim for drugs and alcohol while ... Trayvon's parents recount son's death in new bookThe Detroit News all 3 news articles »

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Trayvon Martin had to be guilty of something, right? - Miami Herald (blog)

Benjamin Crump Published 8:47 p.m. ET Feb. 23, 2017 | Updated 13 hours ago

People demonstrate in Washington after the acquittal of George Zimmerman.(Photo: Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images)

It has been nearly five years since the story of an innocent, unarmed black teens death at the hands of a neighborhood watch volunteer challenged Americans to recognize this uncomfortable truth: It is dangerous to be black in America.

The nightly news has well documented the sad fact that its often dangerous for black citizens to have an encounter with a police officer. What made Trayvon Martin'scase remarkable is that it apparently extended the license to kill innocent, unarmed black people to other citizens. Now, as we approach the fifth year since Trayvons death, we inevitably ask ourselves what his life and death meant and where we go from here.

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On Feb. 26, 2012, Trayvon was targeted, pursued and shot dead by George Zimmerman in a gated neighborhood in Sanford, Fla., for the simple reason that he was black.

The newscoverage of Trayvons story was a phenomenon. For the first time in decades, a young black teens death was the top news story in the nation. Trayvons face was on every major news network, newspaper, magazine and online news site. But how many other young black men are killed every day without generating the slightest bit of notice? The unprecedented public attention and outrage generated by Trayvons death is certainly an element of his legacy.

And while Trayvons killing mighthave drawn uncommon public attention, it reflected the sadly common bias of our justice system that white-on-black crime is justified by mere suspicion. A turning point in the Zimmerman case occurred when the judge allowed testimony from a woman who said she had been burglarized six months earlier byblack suspects, an incident in no way connected with Trayvon. The admission of that testimony in effect said its a fair assumption that black people are dangerous as a group, and that white people could be justified in killing them.

Trayvons death was one in a long line of cases calling into question whether black lives matter under the law. Consider 14-year-old Emmett Till, whose white killers saw no consequence for acting on a false accusation. Consider 15-year-old Latasha Harlins, fatally shot in the back of the head in 1991 by a store owner who suspected the girl was trying to steal a bottle of juice. No justice.

Trayvons death and his killers subsequent acquittal galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement, generating many important conversations across America. Critics of the movement frequently ask, Dont you mean all lives matter? Of course, all lives should matter. But the evidence overwhelmingly suggests thatin America today, black lives dont. Raising that conversation and provoking a hard look at the racial bias that is baked into Americas justice system is another important part of Trayvons legacy, though that work is far from finished.

Attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a news conference.(Photo: Jeff Roberson, AP)

In working toward a better America, Trayvons parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, rightfully deserve a tribute for their painful and tireless sharing of their story, contributing to a more conscious awareness of discrimination. Their powerful work and sacrifices have re-energized the civil rights movement.

Unfortunately, not all the outgrowths of Trayvons case have been constructive. Deadly laws such asstand your ground, which in part vindicated Trayvons killer, have sprung up across the country, metastasizing to more than 30 states. The deep pockets of the gun lobby continue to fund this kind of legislation that lets everyday citizens off the hook for the killing of innocent people such asTrayvon, sweeping their deaths under the blood-stained rug of racial injustice.

To cure what ails our nation, first we must admit the problem. Black Americans are more likely to be stopped by police, more likely to be arrested, more likely to die in an encounter with police, more likely to serve time and are oftenforced to plead guilty tocrimes they did not commit. In fact, one in threeblack men born in 2001 will end up serving time in prison, according to the Sentencing Project. That shocking fact accounts for the destruction of an extraordinary number of black families and imperils the future of the next generation of black children.

While Trayvon's death raised Americas consciousness and pierced its conscience, the progress toward racial equality and true justice has been painfully slow. Trayvons life mattered. For his death to also matter, we must change the justice equation in America to ensure that all citizens are treated fairly by police, by the courts and by the correctional system. Let's finally extendequal justice to all.

Attorney Benjamin Crump is a civil rights advocate who represents the family of Trayvon Martin and has worked on dozens of other high-profile civil rights cases.

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5 years after Trayvon Martin's death, what has nation learned?: Column - USA TODAY