The fathers of slain black teens Trayvon Martin and Ramarley Graham shared an emotional embrace today in a rally against NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk policies — as the duo braced themselves for their first Father’s Day without their sons.
Tracy Martin and Frank Graham spoke in support of a planned Sunday silent march against racial profiling and the policy of street stops that has stirred outrage from civil rights groups that say it unfairly targets minorities because most of the people stopped are black or Latino.
“It’s tough standing up here today,” confessed Martin, whose son Trayvon, 17, was shot dead on Feb. 26 by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who now stands charged with second-degree murder in Florida.
“Any time I talk about my son is tough,” the heartbroken father continued. “It’s hard to imagine Father’s Day without Trayvon.”
Graham’s son, Ramarley, 18, was gunned down by an NYPD officer on Feb. 2 during a drug bust in the Bronx.
Neither teen was armed — and both were shot by white men, sparking national outrage from groups that say the slayings were racially motivated.
“To me, my son was murdered,” Graham told a crowd of nearly 200 stop-and-frisk opponents at the Manhattan headquarters for the National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by Sharpton. “But I want to ensure that no one else has to go through this.”
“I lost my son to the people we pay to protect us,” he fired.
After speaking, a teary-eyed Graham hugged Martin, who looked more composed yet solemn.
“It is clear that this policy of stop and frisk must stop,” Sharpton said. “It’s racial profiling. Why are we, blacks and Latinos, the overwhelming majority of the people stopped? We want to stop crime with racial profiling — but racial profiling is a crime.”
Graham and Martin vowed to be at the Sunday march, a silent procession that will congregate starting at 2:30 p.m. on 110th Street at Lenox Avenue, with the event beginning at 3 p.m.
“This is the first Father’s Day for them without their sons,” Sharpton said. “The first one where their sons won’t be able to say, ‘Happy Father’s Day, dad.
“These cases show why we are marching tomorrow. Tomorrow, on Father’s Day, we will stand together. Tomorrow is about stop and frisk.”