By: Gabriel Levi
No one saw it coming. May 25 started out like any other day. The temperature was a cool 64 degrees with a light drizzle that would soon rise to 72 degrees around noon. For the people of Minnesota, this began as just another early-summer day. For the nation as a whole, this day would change the course of the country for months to come.
On May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes and 46 seconds, killing him prematurely. What was Floyd s crime? A counterfeit 20 dollar bill.
Floyd’s tragic death sparked protests all over America beginning on May 26. These protests forced America as a nation to face its dark past and reckon with its mistreatment of marginalized groups. Last year, the word “activist” took on a whole new meaning, and at MU, students are learning to navigate what being an activist means to them.
Image: Contributed photo January 12, 2021
ERIE, Pa. Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, discussed social justice activism, including the Black Lives Matter movement, in an online forum that will open Penn State Behrend’s 2021 celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Jan. 18 program, which was hosted on Zoom, was free and open to the public.
Martin, 17, was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida, in 2012. The man who killed him was acquitted.
Fulton became an activist working with Mothers of the Movement and other groups that hope to reduce gun violence. In 2020, she expanded her role, attending the funeral for George Floyd, who died during an arrest in Minneapolis, and campaigning for a seat on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners.
Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, will discuss social justice activism, including the Black Lives Matter movement, in an online forum that will open Penn State Behrend’s 2021 celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. The Jan. 18 program, which will be hosted on Zoom, is free and open to the public.