'African-American lives matter': Tracy Martin, father of Trayvon Martin, spoke out against the stigma surrounding young black men on MSNBC last night The father of Trayvon Martin, the boy shot dead in Florida in 2012, last night spoke out against the stereotypes that stigmatise young blacks in America. Speaking about the shooting of Michael Brown nine days ago at the hands of a policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, Tracy Martin told MSNBC he recognised attempts to smear the dead teenager's name. Trayvon was just 17 when he was killed by neighbourhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder after his lawyers painted Trayvon as a dope-smoking, school-skipping delinquent.
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Tracy Martin's son was 17 when he was shot dead by George Zimmerman
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In the aftermath of the killing, Trayvon was painted as a delinquent teenager
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'Our young kids get stereotyped... we have to break the stigma' - Mr Martin
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Ferguson officials and locals have doubts over St Louis county prosecutor
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They believe Bob McCullogh, who has links to police, cannot be impartial
'We have to come together as human beings and say that @placeholder lives matter as much as any other ethnicity group matters.'