Martin's Circle Of Fathers Event Focuses On Creating Stronger Dads
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The father of Trayvon Martin, Tracy Martin, held a special event for men in downtown Miami Saturday night.
The event called Circle of Fathers: "A Conference on 21st Century Fatherhood" focused on bringing together a multicultural and intergenerational mix of men dedicated to helping foster the role of fathers in communities.
"Prior to this, I used to be a mentor and math tutor and I kind of dropped off but now, I'm going to go back home get my math books dust them off," said Simeon Wright.
Watch Maggie Newland's report, click here.
According to organizers, the weekend gathering was designed to help fathers learn more about what they mean to their families and to young men and women.
The fathers and attendees talked about the modern day challenges of raising children.
"Being here it helps because a lot of parents lost their kids and we need that closeness we need to know what's going on so we can help other kids," said William Bell.
Bell lost his 23-year-old son Sean Bell when he was shot by police following his bachelor party in New York in 2006.
"He was beginning to become a young man, I never seen him as a man and that's the part I miss," added Bell.
Now, he works to help other young people.
"If I could take control of most of these kids, I'd sit down and talk to them and say 'what's the issue' because all they need is for someone to talk to them and tell them they love them and give them a hug and trust me it would change them," Bell said.
The event was held in downtown Miami and featured keynote speaker Michael Irvin, a former NFL player and Tony Gaskins, a motivational speaker, life coach, author, TV and film producer.
"Not just talking about being a father in their own homes but being community fathers because mentoring is a very important part of our communities," said Nina Ali, the program manager. "A lot of our children will grow up and won't have fathers in their homes we're talking about fatherhood in a larger more universal sense."
"We can make a difference and we're going to make a difference, we're going to make a difference," said Wright.
To learn more about The Trayvon Martin Foundation, click here.
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