Five years after his death, Trayvon Martin will receive a posthumous bachelor’s degree in aeronautical science from Florida Memorial University (FMU), His mother. Sybrina Fulton’s alma mater.
The aeronautics degree is in “honor of the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot,” the school said in a Facebook post (seen below). Florida Memorial’s Department of Aviation and Safety has a designated Cessna pilot training center, and the school also houses the Trayvon Martin Foundation.
FMU, a historically black college, maintains a designated pilot training center. Martin attended a few aviation classes in high school and “had an obvious love of flying,” an FMU spokeswoman told CNN.
Martin was shot and killed in February 2012, by George Zimmerman, who called 911 to report a suspicious person in his neighborhood and later got into a fight with the 17-year-old. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, which he was acquitted of in 2013. . Unfortunately, Martin’s death seemed to have started the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and it seems like things have only gotten worse, not better.
Thank You #FMU #TrayvonMartin will receive his Bachelors in Aviation ITNOJ Thank You Dr. Artis, the Board & staff #MySchoolFMU???#MySun/Son pic.twitter.com/PbOay9LJ86
— Sybrina Fulton (@SybrinaFulton) May 4, 2017
Fulton has issued her own statement on the degree for her late son on her twitter account.
“Thank You
#FMU#TrayvonMartin will receive his Bachelors in Aviation ITNOJ Thank You Dr. Artis, the Board & staff#MySchoolFMU#MySun/Son”
The commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. The University will also host a post-commencement fundraiser and reception in support of FMU’s Department of Aviation and Safety. Florida Memorial University is also one of four universities in the U.S. that is a designated CESSNA pilot center.