Oregon State University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration week starts Saturday in Corvallis. As part of their longest running event, organizers chose Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, as this year’s keynote speaker.
OSU’s Chief Diversity Officer Charlene Alexander says the goal is to cultivate an atmosphere that embraces the legacy of Dr. King, while also highlighting ongoing civil rights struggles.
Sybrina Fulton, she says, connects these objectives.
FULTON: “Sybrina Fulton has become a role model in many of the issues and the grief around the death of our young children today. And certainly is a strong advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement as well.”
Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, in 2012. Alexander says Fulton’s advocacy in the wake of her son’s death brought national attention to the treatment of African American youth by the criminal justice system.
The speaking event with Sybrina Fulton is sold out, but interested parties can register to livestream the talk.