Students at Fort Lewis College will hold a vigil for Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old high school student who four years ago Friday was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch coordinator in a gated community in Florida.
“It’s a significant day, of course,” said FLC sociology professor Anthony Nocella. “Trayvon Martin is a very famous case, that was one of the precursors to the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Martin, an African American, was unarmed when George Zimmerman, an Hispanic, shot him on Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman claimed self-defense, and was ultimately acquitted, but the case thrust into the spotlight the issue of racial profiling and injustice.
FLC’s event at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Clocktower is the latest in a string of events organized by the school’s Black Student Union, a newly formed group, as well as a number of students and other organizations.
“I’m really excited to see the fostering of activism around social injustice, especially racial injustice on campus,” Nocella said. “FLC is embracing it, and there are a number of people aware and taking note we need to be a more inclusive community and society.”
Nocella said there will be lectures, chalking and other events as part of the vigil.
