Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
Entertainment

Trayvon Martin’s Mom Chides BET for Yanking Latest Installment of Docuseries About Her Son on Labor Day

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Sybrina Fulton, the mother of slain teen Trayvon Martin, is heated with BET.

Fulton on Monday made her grievance with the network known when she posted on Instagram that it would not air the fifth part of the documentary “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story,” which was produced by Jay-Z.

“Just found out that #BET has made a programming decision not to air ‘Rest In Power’ tonight as scheduled 😠 #TrayvonMartin17 #RestInPowerTrayvon #YourMomWontGivep #ItsOnParmountNetwork,” Fulton posted on her social media page on Labor Day.

Trayvon Martin

(@sybrinafulton/Instagram)

The program is scheduled to air on the Paramount Network and BET every Monday night at 10 p.m., which has been the case since it premiered July 30. But rather than running the next installment of “The Trayvon Martin Story,” BET elected to re-run “The New Edition Story,” presumably in preparation for its latest miniseries, “The Bobby Brown Story,” which airs Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Paramount, however, aired the show as scheduled.

Much like Fulton, fans were just as heated that Black Entertainment Television failed to air the show.

“Wow! Shame on BET!”

“I had it for dvr on bet and just happened to check on it and it wasnt up there 😡, I caught it 30 minutes im on paramount.”

“Why @bet????? We were watching this as a family…..”

“They made the wrong decision! I watched on Paramount and am praying with your family every day.”

“I really would like to know why they aren’t continuing to air Rest in Power?!!”

“Though @bet has redeemed itself in the eyes of some, we must remember that this is the same network that chose not to air the million man march year’s ago when we as a people needed a positive visual of our power. We aren’t surprised, their priorities are often misplaced. Be encouraged, we see and remember but haven’t forgotten. #RestInPowerTrayvonMartin.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top