Melanie L. Campbell, president and CEO of The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and convener of Black Women’s Roundtable issued the following statement regarding the murder charge brought in the Trayvon Martin case:
On behalf of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, I commend Trayvon Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, for their courage and unwavering conviction to stand for justice for their son and for all of the black men and boys whose names we will never know that have been victims of racial profiling.
The nation still mourns the senseless loss of Trayvon. With the arrest of his alleged killer we are optimistic that the wheels of justice will prevail. By charging George Zimmerman with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon- an unarmed teenager returning from the store with snacks -Floridaspecial prosecutor Angela Corey has let the world know that America values the life of a black teenager.
We also support the decision of the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the Sanford Police Departments handling of this case.