Trayvon Martin's Mom To Speak In Philadelphia This Week
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- The mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will speak in Philadelphia this week at the National Urban League's annual conference.
Civil rights and voting rights are two major topics of the four-day event, which begins Wednesday. About 6,000 participants are expected.
Holder will talk Thursday about a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, will speak Friday. She supports an investigation into whether her son's killer could be charged under federal civil rights laws. A jury acquitted George Zimmerman of all criminal counts in Martin's death.
KYW's Dan Wing caught up with Patricia Coulter, the president and CEO of the Urban League of Philadelphia, Monday night.
Coulter says having Fulton speak will help inspire and mobilize local and national communities to continue talks on race, in what Coulter calls a modern Civil Rights Era.
"Having her here just symbolizes I think not only the depth of what she has gone through, but how that permeates our whole society," said Coulter.
Coulter says she's happy to see the topics race and rights back to being a major point of interest for many Americans.
"And every time I turn on the TV, I'm hearing it. That is a fantastic thing. So we want people to keep talking, because we have 150 years of making up to do," said Coulter.
The Urban League is one of the nation's oldest civil rights organizations. President Marc Morial says the conference also will focus on economic opportunities.
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