Dear Trayvon
A birthday letter to Trayvon Martin
Dear Trayvon,
My name is Joe Patterson. We don’t know each other, but we have a lot in common. We are both young Black males, we have both faced ignorance and discrimination because of our skin color and we share a birthday, February 5th. I just wanted to write you a letter to let you know how life has been going since you’ve been gone.
It’s been 12 years since you’ve been gone and ALOT has happened in your absence young brother. Not that it should faze you because you’re resting in peace now, but your killer was exonerated for killing you. The road to the trial for your murder was a firestorm, a revolution. So many people of various backgrounds came together in solidarity because we wanted justice for your wrongful death. Even the world of Hollywood came to your defense and people marched and protest from dusk til’ dawn with a desire to see you have justice.
Like I said before, the man who killed you was allowed to walk free and it led to an uproar of civil unrest. As if your unjust death wasn’t enough, more innocent young Black males and females have been unjustly killed, some of which were even younger than you, Trayvon. Just like with your unjustly death, many of their deaths ended with their killers being allowed to walk free and as a result, civil unrest followed. There have been countless protest, riots and even retaliation killings. It’s been all out warfare and it is still going on.
I’ll never forget the night that the not guilty verdict was decided for your killer. I actually shed tears of anger. I felt the kind of anger that our parent’s generation felt when the police officers who beat Rodney King were allowed to walk away free when we had his lynching on tape. It was just another reminder of how worthless our lives are to the American justice system a whole 20 years later. I wanted to lash out and wanted revenge and I wasn’t the only one who felt that anger.
Young Black Americans such as Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Tamir Rice all suffered the same fate as you and the world has become a different place in light of the struggle that we as Black people are still facing. Though the bad is still going on, the efforts of the good who are against it are also still taking place.
Trayvon, I understand that you’re in a better place looking in on all the good taking place without an ounce of worry about the bad that has happened, as it should be, but you should know about the legacy of good that your life has inspired. You would be so proud to see all the good that your family has done in your absence. Your mother Sabrina has dedicated her life to fighting for Justice so that your death wouldn’t be in vain. She has played an active role in making sure that other Black families get justice for fallen loved ones, your mother is nothing short of a soldier for civil rights.
You should also know that we haven’t forgotten about you. Everything you are and everything you were destined to be remains in our hearts and minds. We know that you loved football and had a chance to one day be that Black star athlete who would’ve inspired so many others like you. Furthermore we know that you were interested in aviation. You could’ve been the next Black pilot or astronaut who would’ve inspired the next generation in ways that we never would’ve imagined. You may not have been a pilot, but you definitely got your wings. We love and miss you Trayvon. Happy Heavenly birthday, my fellow Aquarian brother and may you continue to Rest In Peace.
~~Dedicated to the memory of Trayvon Benjamin Martin, Happy Birthday young brother.
About the Creator
Joe Patterson
Hi I'm Joe Patterson. I am a writer at heart who is a big geek for film, music, and literature, which have all inspired me to be a writer. I rap, write stories both short and long, and I'm also aspiring to be an author and a filmmaker.
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Comments (31)
Good work
Congrats on Top Story!🥳
I am proud of your courage in speaking out and profoundly and genuinely sorry for your loss.
You're doing amazing work—keep it up, congratulations!
Great letter
Thank you for sharing this. And thank you for reminding us of the potential that we lost. Powerful writing.
I like writing on Vocal. My audience tells me how good I am and I believe them not Vocal. Some excellent points here.
Eloquent, Anointed & Powerful! Congrats on your TOP STORY Joe! I hope that you enjoyed your Birthday!
wow you share a birthday with him this was powerful, man I remember the day that this happened you really spoke on many problems the black man has in america, nail on the head man good article
Joe, you had me in tears, and that's no easy feat. I'm a mixed race woman (my dad was Black, my mom was white). I remember the day this beautiful young man was killed and the day his killer walked free. It's hard to believe it's been 12 years.
Joe, this is such an emotional piece. I am a mum of mixed race children, and reading this made me shed tears thinking about some of their encounters in this crazy place we call life. Thank you for writing and happy belated birthday!
This is a beautiful letter, with it's balance of the acknowledgement of the injustices still permeating our systems, against the recognition that there is such a will to change.
Very well said Joe. I cannot believe that this type of thing is still happening almost every day. It is beyond heartbreaking. Congrats on a well deserved Top Story and Happy Birthday.
My heart never healed after this sweet boy was killed. My young adult whom I adopted as a newborn is black and is terrified of going back to the USA to visit their grandmother alone. ( We are in Sweden). Guns, hate, racism and a tainted justice system are all reasons to justify our worries. This should be Top Story!
Unbelievable, and unforgivable, that so little has changed since Billie Holiday recorded 'Strange Fruit'. A superb article, suffused with love but also uncompromising, as any work dealing with injustice must be.
❤️ Innovative and Insightful!
Joe, this is such a beautiful tribute to Trayvon. It doesn't seem like it's been twelve years already, and yet it somehow feels much longer. We've lost so many lives needlessly and so few of their families have received any measure of justice. I remember organizing marches and protests ahead of each of the verdicts and hoping that we wouldn't need to follow through. Yet every time, the judicial system let us all down. How so many have been murdered (and on film at that!) and their killers have been allowed to simply walk free, or been given paid vacations while the PDs investigated themselves and ultimately found themselves not guilty... it still astounds me to this day. Yes, we did see some measure of revolution in the years that followed Trayvon's, Mike's, Eric's, Sandra's, Freddy's, Akai's, Breonna's, George's, Christopher's (remember the boy who answered the door while holding a WII remote?), Kelly Thomas's, etc etc deaths, but not nearly enough has changed in all these years. Not nearly enough of these officers have been held accountable for their actions. I can only hope that someday, somehow, there will be some measure of justice, some major reformation of the justice system - or better yet a complete dismantling and a much better system will be implemented in its place. We owe them that.
very heartfelt
A deeply moving and relevant tribute; may challenge our broken systems more and more. Thank you, Joe <3
This was heartbreaking to read. One day I hope everything will be different. You wrote this so well. Wishing you all the best.
🙏🏽👏👏👏 Amazing work, Joe. I couldn't stop reading until the words stopped. But I tell you what hasn't stopped, the strength of his memory. It's as potent as the day the world was outraged over his passing. I'm encouraging everyone to share this through their social media outlets. This letter needs to go viral. 💖
Heartbreaking!!! Awesome tribute!!! Congratulations on your birthday & Top Story!!!♥️♥️💕
I knew this would be a Top Story. I hope we never forget this name, or any of the many others that history as taken away from us. R.I.P. Trayvon. We are still watching our backs.
It’s breaks my heart that this happened and that still today there is constant threat of repeat. But I am glad that people are still saying Trayvon Martin’s name. Breonna Taylor’s name. Tamir Rice’s name. Regis Korchinski’s name. So many names.
Joe, this is beautifully penned and a heartfelt, sombre, but worthy tribute to a life cut short, like so many others. Well done and congrats on this getting the Top Story it deserves. Good to see something like this one the main page.