The Nu Chi Chapter East St. Louis of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity honored the memory of Trayvon Martin at its annual Founders Day Banquet held on November 16 at Blackmon’s Plaza in East St. Louis, Ill.
Keynote speakers included Trayvon’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, and Benjamin Crump, who is the family’s lead counsel. They were also joined by Trayvon’s older brother, Jahvaris Fulton.
“If you look around, you see lovely African-American men and women standing firm for one cause, united for justice for the Trayvon Martin family,” said DeJuan Lockhart, outgoing basileus of the Nu Chi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi. “If we don’t get involved, then who will?”
On February 26, Trayvon Martin, 17, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman inside a gated community where he was visiting his father in Sanford, Fl. Zimmerman claimed to be acting in self-defense, eventually citing Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, and described the youth as “suspicious” in behavior and appearance. Trayvon’s only weapons, however, were a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea.
Many believed Trayvon’s untimely death was a case of racial profiling, and national protests ensued when local police did not immediately arrest Zimmerman. The U.S. Department of Justice ultimately intervened, and Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder.
At the Omega Psi Phi event, guests watched a video presentation of media clips surrounding the case that included still images of protesters wearing black hoodies holding signs that read: “Am I next?” President Obama said in the video, “If I’d had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Crump, of Parks & Crump, LLC in Tallahassee, Fl., was the first to address the banquet audience. He said Trayvon could have been any black boy in America, yet Sybrina and Tracy were chosen by God to “bear this cross,” as had Mamie Till Bradley.
Mamie was the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who made the deadly mistake of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi in 1955. He was kidnapped and beaten beyond recognition by white men who were later acquitted of his murder.
Over 50 years later, Crump wondered whether or not equal justice exists in this country. “It’s unbelievable how the rules change when it’s our children,” he said.
Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, was visibly emotional throughout the evening. She spoke briefly.
“I want you to use my story as an example so that this does not happen to your child,” Fulton said. “We have to protect our children, because just like other people’s children are important to them, our children are important to us.”
Tracy Martin, the youth’s father, is a native of East St. Louis. He said he has become a better person because of the tragedy. He discussed the high crime rate in East St. Louis when he was growing up and how it was a deciding factor in his decision to remove his children from a hostile environment.
“Being in Florida and having my son taken away from me just made me know that it doesn’t matter where you live,” Martin said.
Dwayne Acoff, Founders Banquet chairperson, said action needs to be taken to curb violence in the East St. Louis metropolitan area.
Crump, a member of Omega Psi Phi, was awarded for his legal representation of Trayvon Martin’s family, and Trayvon’s parents were recognized for their dignity, strength and courage throughout the tragedy.
Lockhart, the outgoing basileus, was recognized for his three years of leadership as basileus. The Omega Man of the Year award went to Jason Ford, basileus elect of the Nu Chi Chapter. The Citizen of the Year award went to Theresa Lyons Flanders.
The Nu Chi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, a historically black fraternity, was founded on four principles: Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift. Since its inception in 1955, the Nu Chi Chapter has provided and promoted programs of social, cultural and economic uplift to the East St. Louis community.
