The parents of Trayvon Martin will release a book on their late son in January, a few weeks before the five-year anniversary of his death.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the book by Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton will celebrate the life and legacy of their son. The book — to hit shelves Jan. 31, 2017 — will “offer the true inside story of their son’s life and struggles, his tragic death, and the transformative movement for justice and healing that grew from that tragedy,” according to a press release.
Martin, who was black, was 17 years old when he was shot and killed on Feb. 26, 2012 by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman was later acquitted of second degree murder after his lawyers claimed self-defense under Florida’s stand your ground law.
“It first brings Trayvon back to life as the full, three-dimensional, complex kid he was, through his parents’ eyes,” Jackson told the Hollywood Reporter about the book. “And then to the dark and confusing days following his death, which slowly transform into the blossoming of a powerful, historic movement for change and healing that we’re still watching unfold five years later. Everyone who’s been reading the manuscript is in tears by the second chapter.”
Martin’s death sparked the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement when it became a viral hashtag on social media. The movement became more national recognized following the police-involved deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in 2014.
