“There is no time to grieve,” said Tracy Martin, when asked the question about personally coping with his son’s death and having any help to do so. The mom and dad were part of a panel Aug. 2 during the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. The question came from The Final Call as the floor was opened for questions from convention participants.
The support from people around the country helps and dealing with the loss is ongoing, Mr. Martin added.
But, he continued, there is so much work to be done helping others who have lost children to violence and who are voiceless.
For Sybrina Fulton an abiding religious faith and the support of her pastor provides some help coping, but she has received no counseling. She too simply keeps going, retelling the story of her son’s life and his death at the hands of self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla. Last month a six-person jury acquitted Mr. Zimmerman of second-degree murder but federal authorities are still probing for possible civil rights violations.
Retired CBS newsman Randall Pinkston conducted the afternoon session in the main conference ballroom following a press conference earlier that day.