Decade after death of Trayvon, Black History Month marks birth of Black Lives Matter

Feb. 26th marks 10 years since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was murdered on his way home to his father’s house in Sanford, Florida. I remember as kid in class we’d learn about significant, culture-shifting moments in history. The kind where if you ask someone about them, you’ll learn exactly where and when they were in the moment. Pearl Harbor, the murder of Emmitt Till, the moon landing, the assassinations of President John F Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, and 9/11 are all moments like this that come to mind. With that, there is a collective trauma that stays with an entire generation. Sometimes, out of that trauma comes something incredibly transformative that will stay with more than just one generation.

In January, the New York Times released a special edition called 10 Years Since Trayvon: The Story Of The First Decade Of Black Lives Matter. It features a timeline along with multiple articles written from many Black contemporary writers, organizers, and historians, speaking to various issues around the Black Lives Matter movement. While reading it, I was taken back to my 23-year-old self, the anger, rage, sadness, and other various emotions I felt at the time came flooding back. I also remembered where I was when I learned about Oscar Grant and that, with every name that becomes a hashtag or one we know, there are even more names we don’t know. My parents lived through the Civil Rights Era and taught me everything a young Black kid should know to try and survive, and, all too often, even that isn’t a guarantee you’ll make it home.

The first time the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was used was in 2013. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Ayo Tometi would form the organization in July of 2013. Black lives have always mattered, long before we were brought here in 1619. Part of the struggle has always been getting other people, specifically those who are non-melanated, to see us and understand that our lives matter too. Trayvon Martin was not the first unarmed Black person to lose their life to senseless racial violence and he will not be the last. Trayvon is our generation’s Emmett Till — both of their murders were the spark that activated an entire generation to continue the fight for equality.

In 2013, the Carnegie Center curated a community conversation in Lexington after the verdict in the Zimmerman trial. I remember being in that room and grieving with many others, not just for Trayvon, but for everyone who have been in situations far too similar and didn’t make it home. I also grieved for the families of those who understand the sacrifices our ancestors made for us to have it a little bit better even while so much is still the same. I spoke with people there about everything from our shared grief and to how end a cycle of violence and dismantle white supremacy to Confederate monuments. Here’s the thing about pain — we can’t choose when it does or doesn’t happen, but we can make the conscious decision to take that feeling and turn it into something beautiful that can inspire others.

What happened in Sanford, Florida on Feb. 26, 2012 was a culture-shifting moment that I will always remember. As we commemorate a decade of the Black Lives Lives Matter movement, I am reminded of the words of the ancestors who came before us. Dr. King said it best in his final book “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos Or Community.”

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”

DeBraun Thomas is a musician, community organizer, and radio host & producer in Lexington.