The Trayvon Martin Foundation will host a two-day healing retreat for mothers who have experienced gun violence.
The “Circle of Mothers Empowerment Retreat,” spearheaded by the slain youth’s mother, Sybrina Fulton (right), will take place in Weston, Florida from May 16-18 and will include workshops, empowerment seminars, and keynote speeches by rapper Tupac Shakur’s mother Afeni Shakur and life coach Lisa Nichols.
Fulton is extending an invitation to all mothers, not just African-Americans, who have lost a child. “The loss of a child is unbearable,” she said in a statement. “This kind of pain transcends all ethnic and socio-economic bounds. The goal of this retreat is to gather together women, who like myself have experienced every mother’s nightmare.”
Both Shakur and Fulton have experienced loss in the public eye and have used their platforms to transform tragedy into social change. They hope this weekend will help mothers by giving them the tools to “take the progressive steps forward towards healing,” said Fulton.
Formed shortly after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012, the Trayvon Martin Foundation aims to create awareness around the impact of gun violence on the families of victims.
More information on the weekend is available here.