Advertisement Continue reading the main storyMs. Fulton thanked the university on her Twitter account for the degree. Mr. Martin was shot dead by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, on Feb. 26, 2012, at a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Mr. Martin was unarmed at the time, and his death — and the initial absence of charges against Mr. Zimmerman — prompted a nationwide outcry. Mr. Zimmerman said he shot Mr. Martin in self-defense after the teenager knocked him to the ground, punched him and slammed his head repeatedly against the sidewalk. Ms. Fulton said that Mr. Martin had studied with Barrington Irving, the first black person to pilot a plane around the world solo in 2007, in after-school and summer programs. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyFlorida Memorial University is a private, historically black institution with undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Source: New York Times May 05, 2017 19:41 UTC