Trayvon Martin's Mother, Sybrina Fulton, Qualifies To Run For Office In Florida

Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, announced this week that she has qualified to run for public office in Florida.

She is seeking an open seat for Miami-Dade County commissioner, District 1.

Trayvon was shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012. The man charged in the fatal shooting, George Zimmerman, was acquitted the following year.

Her announcement comes as the nation is reckoning with centuries of social injustices, including systemic racism and chronic mistreatment of communities of color by law enforcement, amid protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd.

Floyd, a black man, was killed last month when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Fulton attended Floyd's funeral in Houston on Tuesday.

In an interview this week, Fulton said she was not in support of calls to defund police departments, a demand that has gained momentum in the wake of Floyd's killing.

With her candidacy, Fulton joins a group of black mothers who have sought elected office after their children were shot and killed.

They include Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., whose son Jordan Davis was killed in 2012. She is seeking a second term in November. Lezley McSpadden — mother of Michael Brown, who was killed by police in 2014 — came up short in her bid last year for a seat on the Ferguson City Council in Missouri.

Fulton has spent the past eight years advocating for stricter gun control. She started both the Trayvon Martin Foundation and Circle of Mothers, the latter of which seeks to bring together and empower mothers who have lost children to gun violence.

Fulton, a former housing agency employee, is running on a platform that includes making housing more affordable in the county, improving Miami-Dade's public transportation system and closing the income inequality gap.

She has already secured endorsements from Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who held a virtual fundraiser with Fulton last month.

The Miami Herald reports that Fulton will face off in August against Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert to serve residents of District 1.

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