For some time I have been on the pursuit of "Who was Trayvon Martin" I have researched and researched and gone so far as to friend request anyone on Facebook or Instagram who had Trayvon's name in their username or biography. By doing so I came across a young man who had a myriad of pictures of Trayvon and has written many posts about him as well. It soon became apparent that this young man was very close to Trayvon. This enticed me because I knew that I would now be able to get an exclusive look into the life of Trayvon Martin. Although, after speaking with him for close to four hours on the phone, I realized the human element to Trayvon. I learned so much more than what the media ever told me and I looked at this as a sign; I thought "Other people must be just as curious as I am." So, I have decided to share with you what I have learned in the hopes that you walk away knowing a little more than before about Trayvon Benjamin Martin.
As the phone rang I noticed the "305" area code and thought to myself "This is it..". I answered nervously and introduced myself; I explained that I didn't work for any news publication, I just wanted to know more about Trayvon Martin or as he knew him as "Tray". "He" was 18 yr. old Michael or as his friends call him 'Kweli'. He was very soft spoken with a deep southern accent, but when he spoke about Trayvon his tone changed. He sounded so jubilant while he described how they would hang out almost everyday in school and how Trayvon would always come over to his house to free-style rap and play basketball. Michael laughed while he told me how Trayvon loved his alone time... "I remember seeing him outside one day during lunch and I asked him "Why you sitting out here by yourself? He told me "It's too many people inside there!" "Trayvon liked to keep to himself".
As the phone rang I noticed the "305" area code and thought to myself "This is it..". I answered nervously and introduced myself; I explained that I didn't work for any news publication, I just wanted to know more about Trayvon Martin or as he knew him as "Tray". "He" was 18 yr. old Michael or as his friends call him 'Kweli'. He was very soft spoken with a deep southern accent, but when he spoke about Trayvon his tone changed. He sounded so jubilant while he described how they would hang out almost everyday in school and how Trayvon would always come over to his house to free-style rap and play basketball. Michael laughed while he told me how Trayvon loved his alone time... "I remember seeing him outside one day during lunch and I asked him "Why you sitting out here by yourself? He told me "It's too many people inside there!" "Trayvon liked to keep to himself".
As i dug deeper into how Trayvon was as a person, Michael explained to me how laid back he was. Although, he said, "Trayvon was real funny". He told me about one particular day when Trayvon's mom picked them up from the basketball courts because of the rain and Trayvon jokingly said "You better come when I call".. He loved to mess around with his mom like that. "I should make you walk right now!" she said "Try Me, Try Me!" he said as everyone started laughing. This is the Trayvon that he remembers. The silly Trayvon, the laid back Trayvon, the Trayvon that would rather sit outside by himself rather than be in a cafeteria full of people. "Trayvon had a lot of friends but didn't always hang out with them" "He enjoyed being alone most of the time"
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| The Picture known around the world. 12 yo. Martin during his birthday party |
The more we spoke the more questions began to pop into my head! How did he talk? How did he dress? Did he have an accent? Did he have any girlfriends? How was his relationship with his older brother? I wanted to know who Trayvon really was! The media has done a significant job of either portraying Trayvon as a thug who was looking for trouble or merely a symbol of this modern day "Civil Rights Movement". Some may argue that this was "meant to happen".. Some people have to die for others to live. Well, I took a different approach to this sensationalized case. I looked into the eyes of Trayvon wearing the red Hollister shirt on my tv screen and thought to myself "He could have been one of my friends... this could have been one of my 3 younger brothers. I had too many unanswered questions and that fueled me to go out in search of real answers.
I saw interviews of Terry Martin and Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's parents, all over the news. The pain on their face and the way they spoke when they recalled memories of Trayvon truly did hit home for me. To this day I'm not sure why I took such an interest in this particular story. It may have been because he simply looked like ME... he was young, black and was the same age as I was during his fatal end. In a weird way I felt like Trayvon was apart of my family. I followed the Zimmerman case every day that I could and my siblings would constantly complain that they would rather watch cartoons instead. I pulled my younger brother aside and explained to him what happened to Trayvon and before I could finish he said "Wait, why is there even a case? He should just go straight to jail!" "Well, that's what many of us are thinking but that is how our country's legal system runs." I replied. It spoke volumes that my 9 year old brother was just verbalizing what many people across the country were thinking.
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| Trayvon Martin with Father Tracy Martin |
Michael described Trayvon's relationship with his parents. "They were like brother and sister, honestly, they were mad cool". Michael stated that he continues to keep in contact with Trayvon's mother and father. Although, he said, "Trayvon's dad hasn't been the same since the trial... he's been more low key now-a-days". Michael describes Trayvon's mom as having a strong demeanor but still deeply saddened. Often, Trayvon's mother will attend performances of Michael's who goes by the performer name "Kweli". He has dedicated many of his songs to Trayvon, and one song in-particular he created to ease the pain of losing his friend; which can be found HERE.
During the fatal night that Trayvon was shot and killed by neighborhood watch man, George Zimmerman, Michael recalls how that was the night of the NBA All Star Game -- "Trayvon probably went to the store during the half time, he wouldn't miss the game" Michael decided to call him to say What's up and there was no answer. That Monday, Michael arrived at school and was once again shocked when Trayvon didn't answer his phone so that they could meet up to go to 1st period together, but he shook it off as no big deal. During his 6th period one of his friends reported the bad news: "Tray got shot and killed by a police officer!" "We were all confused... It just didn't sound right". As we all know it later turned out that he was not in fact shot by a police officer but by a Neighborhood Watchman. Michael was heartbroken... he was in serious denial and didn't wanna believe that his best friend was gone.
"Where we from, we ain't thugs ... that's just how we are" He later went on to explain that Trayvon was never the type to start problems. "We won't start problems, but like anyone else, if we are approached we will react." Michael now remembers Trayvon Martin as his best friend Tray who he's known since middle school and above everything he will miss laughing and having a good time with him. Since Trayvon's death, Michael has gone on to become a well-known local rapper in Miami, Florida and attributes most of his success to Trayvon. "I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for Tray".
Trayvon's story may cause anger and disappointment as I know it did for me, but, in that anger must be more than just anger. There must be a will to do something. There must be a wanting and hunger for change. Although you may think you are only ONE -- everyone in essence is only ONE. With the support of everyone we can influence change in our government and society. I hope that we as a young people can take this tragedy and turn it into a source of influence for us. Although Trayvon is no longer with us his legacy will live on forever. We all will remember the chubby-cheeked face we saw on television and most of all we will remember how we felt when we felt injustice occurred. Let's change ourselves first, then we can focus on changing others.
-Imani Cruz :-)
"Where we from, we ain't thugs ... that's just how we are" He later went on to explain that Trayvon was never the type to start problems. "We won't start problems, but like anyone else, if we are approached we will react." Michael now remembers Trayvon Martin as his best friend Tray who he's known since middle school and above everything he will miss laughing and having a good time with him. Since Trayvon's death, Michael has gone on to become a well-known local rapper in Miami, Florida and attributes most of his success to Trayvon. "I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for Tray".
Trayvon's story may cause anger and disappointment as I know it did for me, but, in that anger must be more than just anger. There must be a will to do something. There must be a wanting and hunger for change. Although you may think you are only ONE -- everyone in essence is only ONE. With the support of everyone we can influence change in our government and society. I hope that we as a young people can take this tragedy and turn it into a source of influence for us. Although Trayvon is no longer with us his legacy will live on forever. We all will remember the chubby-cheeked face we saw on television and most of all we will remember how we felt when we felt injustice occurred. Let's change ourselves first, then we can focus on changing others.
-Imani Cruz :-)
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