CASE STUDY
NATIONAL RACIAL JUSTICE & ADVOCACY: TRAYVON MARTIN FOUNDATION
The Challenge
The tragic death of Trayvon Martin was one of the first racial justice cases to ignite the national Black Lives Matter movement. Shortly after Trayvon’s death, the Ford Foundation approached The TASC Group to meet with Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, and other members of the family to represent them throughout the trial of George Zimmerman. The case not only became a national flashpoint for civil rights protests but also turned into a media circus for Sybrina and members of the family.
The Challenge
The tragic death of Trayvon Martin was one of the first racial justice cases to ignite the national Black Lives Matter movement. Shortly after Trayvon’s death, the Ford Foundation approached The TASC Group to meet with Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, and other members of the family to represent them throughout the trial of George Zimmerman. The case not only became a national flashpoint for civil rights protests but also turned into a media circus for Sybrina and members of the family.
The Strategy
The TASC Group’s main focus was to help the family navigate a deeply personal tragedy while fighting for Trayvon’s reputation and advancing national recognition of the issues his death brought to the forefront. Their story was one of the nation’s most high-profile stories at the time, sparking a national conversation about Stand Your Ground laws and new legislation such as the End Racial Profiling Act.
TASC generated attention for the Hoodies Up campaign that organically sprung up before the trial, as well as managed all elements of the family’s public relations before, during and after the trial. This included fielding media requests and helping the family become national thought leaders on racial and criminal justice reform. TASC also held the national media accountable when George Zimmerman’s legal team began distributing images of Trayvon depicting him in a negative light.
The Results
The national media campaign that TASC managed generated thousands of positive stories across the country for the family and the newly launched Trayvon Martin Foundation, with more than 300 million media impressions in outlets such as The New York Times, NBC’s Meet the Press, Good Morning America and ABC’s The View. The case resulted in a national cover story in Ebony magazine with the family and major celebrities posing with their children with the statement, “We Are Trayvon.”
Immediately after the verdict, TASC negotiated a joint interview with all the morning shows at ABC, CBS and NBC, capturing a combined audience of 16 million viewers. TASC also managed a national press conference with Sybrina Fulton, the family, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and the Rev. Al Sharpton in New York City. The press conference was covered nationally and resulted in a cover page in the New York Daily News that subsequently proliferated on social media. TASC wrote and placed an op-ed by the family’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, that ran in The Washington Post and another op-ed by civil rights leader Dr. Bernice King, and Sybrina Fulton in USA Today.
The family testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the End Racial Profiling Act. Over 400,000 people signed the Change.org petition to reform Stand Your Ground laws across the country. After Zimmerman was found not guilty, Sybrina and the family conducted dozens of interviews with national media calling on the public to peacefully protest the verdict. TASC worked with Sybrina and members of the family to develop messaging that would prevent violent protests across the country. Several weeks later, President Obama praised Sybrina Fulton and the family’s incredible grace and dignity in the wake of the verdict.
Sybrina Fulton and the Trayvon Martin Foundation have become and remain some of the nation’s most important subject matter experts on racial profiling and criminal justice reform.
MEDIA COVERAGE
