Florida city where Trayvon Martin died creates committee to study race, inequality nearly 10 years later
Nearly a decade after Black teenager Trayvon Martin was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, local officials have agreed to form an advisory committee to study how race, class and gender can lead to social inequities.
The “Race, Equality, Equity and Inclusion” panel will include 15 residents and business owners from the Sanford area, according to the Orlando Sentinel. They will be tasked “with taking a look at racial tension within the city and how the disparities in services, public and private, impact people of color more than they do their white counterparts,” said Andrew Thomas, Sanford’s community relations and neighborhood engagement director, at a recent commission meeting.
The committee’s first report, to be presented in about eight months, will detail its findings and recommendations on improving certain aspects of the community, including within governmental services regarding housing, health care, education, criminal justice and employment.
“The city of Sanford recognizes racism and social inequities unfairly disadvantages specific individuals and communities and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources,” according to a resolution approved unanimously by commissioners earlier this week.
“The collective prosperity of the City depends upon the equitable access to opportunity for every resident regardless of the color of their skin or social status.”
What started as plans to create a mural in the area grew into the concept of the racial equality panel shortly after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died in Minneapolis on Memorial Day last year. Video of an officer kneeling down on his neck ignited widespread backlash and a wave of protests, demanding an end to systemic racism and police brutality.
Martin, who lived in Miami, was visiting his father on Feb. 26, 2012 when he was shot during a confrontation with George Zimmerman, who has a white father and Hispanic mother, as he walked home from a convenience store. Zimmerman claimed self-defense and was eventually acquitted during a jury trial.
Martin’s death helped lead to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013.
With News Wire Services
