Jay Z and the Weinstein Company are teaming up for an expansive series – including film and a TV documentary series – about the life and death of teenager Trayvon Martin.
The rapper and the production company will put together a six-part miniseries and a feature film about the teenager, who was shot by George Zimmerman in 2012 and whose killing sparked a national debate over racism in the US.
Variety reports the projects will be based on two books – Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It by journalist Lisa Bloom and Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, which was written by Martin’s parents.
Speaking to the Guardian, Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, said the case caused him to lose hope in the criminal justice system.
“As a parent and an African American man, I lost hope and faith in our justice system on the day the killer of our son was acquitted,” said Martin, referring to the verdict by a jury who found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter in July 2013.
This is the second time Jay Z will be involved in a project involving race and the criminal justice system in the US. Early last month his mini documentary series – Time: the Kalief Browder story – about the life and death of the Bronx teen aired, and the Weinstein Company produced Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler’s dramatization of the final hours of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black teen shot by police on New Year’s Day 2009 in Oakland.