City of Sanford Uproots Trayvon Martin Memorial, Infuriating African-American Residents
The city of Sanford’s decision to move a curbside memorial for Trayvon Martin has caused an uproar among many African-American residents. 
The Sanford city manager said moving a makeshift memorial for Trayvon Martin was done at the request of residents near the townhomes where the shooting took place.
“The citizens living in the area had become concerned that this incident was defining their neighborhood,” Norton Bonaparte said. The “incident” Bonaparte is describing is the murder of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.
According to the Orlando Sentinel:
…..the city of Sanford announced Monday afternoon that officials had removed items left as a “curbside memorial” outside Retreat at Twin Lakes, the townhouse community where the 17-year-old was shot.
In a statement, the city said the items were moved “[i]n an effort to protect and preserve the remaining Trayvon Martin curbside memorial items….”
The statement released by the city of Sanford also said that it had communicated with Trayvon Martin’s family before removing the memorial:
In an effort to protect and preserve the remaining Trayvon Martin curbside memorial items, and after communicating with representatives of Trayvon Martin’s family,” the statement read, “Sanford City Manager, Norton Bonaparte announced that the curbside memorial site items placed outside the entrance of the Retreat at Twin Lakes Subdivision in Sanford have been taken to the Sanford Museum as of 2:30 pm today by city staff. All the items retrieved have been carefully handled and inventoried.
But many members of the African-American community reject that assessment for why the Trayvon Martin memorial was disassembled. An attorney for the Martin family says the family was contacted, but the family referred the issue to community leaders.
And Francis Oliver, who runs the black history museum in Sanford’s Goldsboro neighborhood, said the city had been pushing to have the makeshift memorial removed since Trayvon Martin was murdered.
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I believe there’s overkill here. Many people erect makeshift memorials after the tragic loss of a loved one, such as candles, flowers, (artificial or real) or other inanimate objects. They are understood to be temporary. At this time, the utmost concern should be for the conviction of Trayvon’s murderer. The residents of the community are understandably correct.
I agree with Crosstown. The main concern is to Keep Your EYE on The Prize, and that is to convict Trayvon’s murderer.
In all fairness to the homeowners in the community where this tragedy occurred, the makeshift memorial is a constant banner of what happened there and understandably could impact their property values and potential sales opportunities. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having that memorial preserved as a museum display and may even be more profound than stuff just lying curbside after a while that becomes rain battered and sun damaged. No one is going to forget what happened there, and the real push should be for Zimmerman to be brought to justice. A makeshift memorial is not going to contribute to that end. These same African-Americans (my own folks) need to get stirred up about the upcoming election and be sure they are all registered to VOTE! Sometimes we display displaced priorities.
I agree this is a heart touching tragedy that happen, but I do not understand why people get up set for the relocating of a marker, people die every day in the hospitals I have never seen a marker placed by the door of the deceased room maybe I am mistaking tell me where it is .
Joel L, I think it’s the finality that gets to some people. Trayvon has been buried, but this memorial is the last remnants of something that memorializes him, his life. A teenaged girl was murdered outside of the high school where I teach a couple of years ago. She was an innocent victim of gang violence. When her memorial was taken down, there were tears, lots and lots of them. To say that people die every day in hospitals is true and cruel. The death of a young person is tough, but when it’s death by violence, probably racially motivated, then it becomes, I think, even more difficult because it didn’t have to happen. I truly hope you’re not as cold hearted as your post makes you seem.