Today is the start of a New Year, coming a day after Naw Ruz, the first day of spring in the Persian, Zoroastrian and Bahai calendars.  Sophia and I started the year in honor of slain Trayvon Martin.  At 8 years old, she thought it was important that we take this picture.  Yesterday was the Million Hoodie March, and the under-the-radar International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  My friend Liz Dwyer wrote eloquently, powerfully and personally about this horrible injustice for GOOD.is in “Trayvon Martin Could Have Been One of My Kids.”  And black parents all over the U.S. are feeling really worried about letting their boys outside to do anything.

Our skin doesn’t have to have the same pigment as Trayvon’s, nor do I need to be the mother of boys to care deeply about this.  All the talk I do about global citizenship translates into an important principle: we are one human family.  If we are one family, then Trayvon’s unnecessary death is all of our problem – he could have been one of my kids, too. This makes it hit closer to home, and it should. One good I can take from the tragedy: I see him as a martyr for racial healing, and am grateful that the conversation is taking place all over the country, and all over the internet.  Perhaps this New Year will mark the turning point for racial justice, solidarity, and oneness. I hope so.