MIAMI – Monday marks 12 years since Trayvon Martin was fatally shot in Sanford.
His mother, Sybrina Fulton, says not a day goes by that she doesn’t think of her son.
Local 10′s Sanela Sabovic sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Fulton as she talked about how she’s turned her grief and heartache into a force of change, fighting for other kids so that no other parent has to go through what she has.
“Your heart never heals from that type of pain,” she said. “Every day I relive it, every day I think about my son.”
It’s been 12 years since she received the call that’s every parent’s worst nightmare -- the caller telling her that her 17-year-old son was killed while visiting his father, Tracy, in Sanford.
“I still remember that I was in disbelief. Even though it’s almost 12 years, it seems like it was a few years ago,” Fulton said.
On the night of Feb. 26, 2012, Trayvon was walking home from a convenience store.
He was followed, shot and killed by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman.
Zimmerman claimed to have shot the unarmed teen out of self-defense during a physical altercation.
“This guy chased my son,” Fulton said.
Police initially did not arrest Zimmerman. But the news of the shooting gained national attention and demonstrators demanded justice for Trayvon.
Debates were held about racial profiling and Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law.
Six weeks later, Zimmerman was arrested and tried for second-degree murder. He was eventually acquitted.
“I didn’t choose my circumstances, I chose to move forward. I choose to speak for my son,” Fulton said.
Fulton said she’s honored Trayvon by holding peace walks.
“We want our community to know, we want the world to know, we want our young people to know that they have a right to walk in peace without being followed, chased, pursued, profiled or murdered,” Fulton said.
She’s turned her pain into a purpose.
She and Tracy Martin launched the Trayvon Martin Foundation shortly after their son’s death -- a nonprofit organization with the goal of providing emotional and financial support to families who have lost a child due to gun violence.
“I can’t save my son because he is in heaven, but I can certainly do my part to save our young people that we have now,” Fulton said.
Fulton wants to remind parents that Trayvon could have been their son. He was simply walking home when the unthinkable happened.
She doesn’t want any other parent to go through what she has, but for the ones who have, she’s created a support group called the Circle of Mothers.
“It’s about healing and empowerment,” she explained.
Not to mention mentoring the youth, something Fulton finds extremely important.
“We have a youth summit that we do every single year,” she said. “If we can touch and help just one, two people out of the 1,200 kids that we have, we are making a difference.”
“Trayvon didn’t have a chance,” she added. “Hopefully our young people today have a chance. They are still here, there’s still time for us to fight.”
Fulton said fighting for other children is what keeps her going. She said if everybody does their part to help out the youth, we’ll be in a better space in terms of combatting gun violence.