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Trayvon Martin Foundation Plans Events To Honor Teenager

It’s been nearly two years since Trayvon Martin of Miami Gardens was fatally shot while walking home in Sanford, Fla.

This weekend a peace walk and a remembrance dinner are planned to celebrate the life of the teenager who would have turned 19 this month.

The shooting that claimed his life, along with the subsequent trial and acquittal of the man who pulled the trigger, led to a nationwide discussion about Florida’s self-defense Stand Your Ground law, and racial profiling.

RELATED: The Role of Florida's Stand Your Ground Law In The Zimmerman Verdict

Some argued Martin was targeted by former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman because he was black.

There were fears that after the not-guilty verdict in Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial there would be violence in South Florida, but that didn’t come to pass.

And the Trayvon Martin Foundation wants to keep the peace going. The foundation was established by the teenager's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, to raise awareness about the impact of violent crime on victims and their families.

This weekend’s “I Am Trayvon Day of Remembrance Peace Walk” is being billed as a community event.

Anyone who wants to participate is asked to arrive at the Carol City Park in Miami Gardens at 8 a.m. The 1.1-mile walk will end at the Betty T. Ferguson Center at 3000 NW 199 St., also in Miami Gardens.

The event will feature free food, entertainment and motivational speakers.

The following day, the foundation is sponsoring a remembrance dinner which will honor actor Jamie Foxx, broadcaster Michael Baisden and Georgetown University sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson. All three men have been outspoken supporters of the Martin family and efforts to repeal Stand Your Ground laws.

Trayvon Martin’s parents will be in attendance at the dinner. It’s being held at the Signature Grand in Davie on Sunday, Feb. 9.  Tickets cost $75 and $150 with all proceeds going to support the foundation.

Visit TrayvonMartinFoundation.org for details.

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