My Family Has Walked in the Shoes of Trayvon Martin's Family

The death of Trayvon Martin brought up old painful memories for my family and me. We have walked in 

Trayvon’s family shoes. My young brother, Chuckie, was murdered at the young age of 19 in 1978. He was stabbed and shot only to become a cold case.  Chuckie was a sophomore at Morgan State College ((Morgan State University) majoring in psychology.  One fall evening, he had gone to visit his girlfriend and never returned home. The young lady’s cousin found my brother’s body behind a fast food restaurant in Glenn Burnie, Md.  Chuckie was a loving son and brother. He was well-liked by the community and had a host of friends. To this day we don’t know what happened.  We have lots of suspicion that led nowhere because the police department didn’t pursue the case. He was just another black man.  Today, my family still has a fear of what could happen if you walk out of the door. My 87 year old mother worries obsessively about our whereabouts. We understand that one day she had a healthy loving son and the next day he was a body on a cold table in the medical examiner’s office.  And no one could tell her what happened. We can’t bring Chuckie back.  However, Trayvon Martin’s case has touched something in me that I’m going to see if Chuckie’s case can be re-opened.  I don’t know if we can get justice for Chuckie now, but I pray that we get justice for Trayvon Martin.  Please continue to use social media and other avenues to get the word out about Trayvon so that another black son, brother, father, or husband won’t be killed because of the color of his skin.