Trayvon Martin’s dad brings message of hope, and importance of voting, to Manatee NAACP

Sometimes Tracy Martin is asked how much he misses his son, Trayvon Martin.

“Four years, seven months, and 18 days. That’s how much I miss him,” Martin said Friday night as keynote speaker at the 2016 Manatee NAACP Freedom Fund and Awards Banquet at IMG Academy Golf and Banquet Center.

Trayvon Martin, 17, lost his life Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford in an altercation with neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman, which helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement.

Despite the tragedy of that loss, Tracy Martin brought a message of hope, and the importance of voting in the general election.

“At the end of the day, we are all equal under the law, and all lives matter,” Martin said.

Martin’s message was one of conciliation.

“I am here to see that we all succeed as a diverse culture in this country,” he said.

He focused strongly on the importance of family, faith, and parental responsibility.

“We have to step back in and take control of our community,” he said, lamenting the all-too-common loss of life on America’s streets.

“If you don’t have God in your life, you don’t have anything,” Martin said. “I make it my business to get right with God. None of us are perfect. I am a work in progress.”

Through the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the family has worked to make a difference with families that have lost loved ones to gun violence, to encourage stronger parenting and education, and to focus on mental health issues.

“We can pull them out of the bag all day,” Martin said of problems stemming from mental health issues in the United States.

Cornelle Maxfield, emcee for the evening, invoked a frequent theme of the evening: “Our votes count.”

“We are fighting for is democracy. That’s what we are all here to mull around,” she said. “What I am telling you tonight is we are voting, and we are engaged.”

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Manatee NAACP’s annual awards:

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to attorney Layon F. Robinson II, who helped found several local nonprofits, including Manatee County Rural Health Services and the Police Athletic League. Also presented: Presidents Award to Pastor Arthur Huggin; Community Service Award to Mary Jennings; Business Person Award to Tyrone Smith; Community Service Award to Mae Lizzie Jenkins; Unsung Hero Award to the late Theodore Jenkins; and Unsung Heroine Award to Angela Willett.

Poignantly, Robinson dedicated his Lifetime Achievement Award to his great-grandparents, who were born into slavery, and to his wife, Davine, who died earlier this year.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Trayvon Martin’s dad brings message of hope, and importance of voting, to Manatee NAACP."