He was seventeen years old. He was murdered five years ago today. He was a child, never to become a man.

Leonard Pitts writes a searing op- ed that asks, “Trayvon Martin had to be guilty of something, right?” I cried as I read the article. The answer is no but many Americans needed him to be. Tonight, I address him as the man that he was not allowed to become and with the respect he deserves.  Mr. Trayvon Martin.

And I will say again and again what we all know to be true:

He was innocent. He was innocent. He was innocent.