The first ever meeting of the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys convened on Wednesday, and  the Trayvon Martin tragedy and Zimmerman verdict loomed large over the precedings.

Martin’s father Tracy Martin was the meeting’s guest honor.

He spoke passionately of the need for a statute or amendment that would address racial profiling.

From the Huffington Post:

“Let’s not let a not guilty verdict dictate what our youth legacy becomes. Fifty years from now when I’m dead and gone, I would like to see that Trayvon Martin’s name is attached to some type of statute or amendment that says you can’t simply profile our children, shoot them in the heart, kill them and say that you were defending yourself,” Martin said.

“The question is, what can we do as parents, what can we do as African-American men, to assure our kids that you don’t have to be afraid to walk outside your house, go the store, get a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea and make it to your home,” he added. “And next time your parents see you, they’re dressed in white at a funeral.”

Martin also praised the president for weighing in on his son’s death, highlighting in particular Obama’s statement that Trayvon could have been him 35 years ago.

Many other concerns were addressed at the meeting, including education, crime, and Stand Your Ground laws.

Read more at the Huffington Post

 

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