The Florida university that Trayvon Martin’s mother graduated from is awarding the teenager, who was slain by a community watch member five years ago, a college degree.
Florida Memorial University announced Wednesday that it would award an aeronautics degree, with a concentration in flight education, to Martin "in honor of his love for planes and the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot."
Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, will accept the degree for their son.
Martin took aviation courses in high school. He also participated in an aviation camp put on by Barrington Irving, another graduate of the historically black university who, in 2007, became the youngest person and only African-American to fly solo around the world, the university said.
"Trayvon had an obvious love of flying," FMU spokeswoman April R. Silver told CNN.
Fulton took to her Twitter page to thank her alma mater for honoring her son, whose dream was cut short by violence.
Martin was 17 years old when he was killed Feb. 26, 2012, as he walked to his father’s girlfriend’s house in Sanford, Florida, from a nearby convenience store, where he bought iced tea and Skittles. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in the neighborhood, called 911 to report the teen as a suspicious person.
Zimmerman, who was armed, ignored the dispatcher’s request to wait for police to investigate and followed Martin, with whom he got into a fight. Martin was fatally shot in the chest during the scuffle.
Zimmerman, who claimed he acted in self-defense, was charged with second-degree murder but was acquitted of the charges in July 2013.
Martin's death, which prompted months of nationwide protests, was the catalyst for the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement. In the years since his death, his parents founded the Trayvon Martin Foundation, which describes itself on its website as "a social justice organization committed to ending senseless gun violence, strengthening families through holistic support, S.T.E.A.M. education for women and minorities, and mentoring."
The foundation is headquartered at FMU. A private reception after the May 13 commencement ceremony will serve as a fundraiser for the foundation, as well as for the school's Department of Aviation and Safety, the university said.
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