5 Things That Haven’t Changed Since Trayvon Martin’s Death [PHOTOS]
Today marks the two-year anniversary of the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. On Feb. 26, 2012, the high schooler was gunned down by George Zimmerman who was at the time a volunteer neighborhood watch captain.
Zimmerman says he shot Martin out of fear for his life but the actual incidents that led to tragedy are still sketchy to some. Zimmerman claims Martin was the aggressor, banging the aspiring lawyer’s head against a sidewalk until he —having no choice –pulled his gun and killed the teen.
Unfortunately, Martin isn’t around to tell his side of the story. Regardless of whether or not the public believes in Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence, a jury acquitted the now 30-year-old of second-degree murder last July. The court outcome incited backlash on all sides of the fence. Zimmerman supporters took issue with how he was allegedly misportrayed in the media, and Martin supporters felt similarly about the high school student’s public persona.
For the most part, the uproar over Martin’s shooting has basically calmed to a whisper, with the exception of today being the shooting anniversary, in addition to the feverish work done by Martin’s parents and the Trayvon Martin Foundation. There’s no way to accurately pinpoint why the teen isn’t as big a topic as he used to be (it could be because he’s not the only one to die because of gun-toting individual, or perhaps the country, and the world, has moved on) but we can point out a handful of protest points that haven’t exactly changed since Martin’s life was cut short.
View five examples in the gallery below.