Miami street will be named for Trayvon Martin

MIAMI — A street near the Miami school attended by Trayvon Martin will be named for the Black teenager who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012.

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Miami-Dade County commissioners approved adding Martin’s name to the segment of Northeast 16th Avenue that leads to Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, the Miami Herald reported. Martin, who was an 11th grader attending the school, was fatally shot in 2012 while on a visit to his father in Sanford, Florida.

Martin, 17, was unarmed and walking from a convenience store with candy when he was shot by George Zimmerman, the newspaper reported.

Zimmerman, who was charged with first-degree murder, was acquitted in 2013 under Florida’s self-defense law, WFTV reported. The acquittal led to the nationwide movement for racial justice under the Black Lives Matter banner.

The motion to add “Trayvon Martin Avenue” to the street near the teen’s former high school was approved unanimously by Miami-Dade commissioners without discussion, the Herald reported.

“Trayvon Martin was a typical teenager who enjoyed playing video games, listening to music, watching movies, and talking and texting on the phone,” according to the resolution, whose primary sponsor was Commissioner Barbara Jordan.

Martin “was also developing advanced mechanical skills and, among other things, was known to be able to build and fix dirt bikes," the resolution stated. "Martin intended to stay close to home and attend college at either the University of Miami or Florida A&M University.”

An official with Miami-Dade’s Public Works Department said the new signs should be up within a few weeks of the resolution being distributed, according to the Herald. A resolution takes effect 10 days after passage.

Cox Media Group