Jay Z Signs on to Make Trayvon Martin Film and Documentary Series [Watch]

After a successfully conveying the painful, yet powerful story of Kalief Browder,  Jay Z and the Weinstein Company are partnering once again to shed light on the story of Trayvon Martin.

According to Variety, after a heated bidding war, Jay Z and Weinstein won the rights to two books — “Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It” and “Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin.”

“Suspicion Nation”, authored by Lisa Bloom, revisits her experience covering the trial for NBC; as she examines the mistakes made by prosecutors that caused them to lose what she describes as a “winnable case.” “Rest in Power”, authored byTrayvon’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, tells a more personal story, looking at Martin’s childhood and the aftermath of his death.

After earning rave reviews for the production of Fruitvale Station, about the death of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man who was killed in 2009 by a BART police officer, and the recent Spike docu-series Time: The Kalief Browder Story on Spike TV, the production trio plan to make a six-part docu-series with Jay Z producing as part of a first-look deal he signed with the studio last September, along with a narrative feature film.

The 2012 shooting of the 17-year-old Martin sparked a national debate about racial profiling and inequities of the criminal justice system that brought about the Black Lives Matter movement. The African-American high school student was killed by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old mixed-race Hispanic man, who was a member of the neighborhood watch in his Florida community. He claimed he shot Martin, who was unarmed, in self-defense after the two became involved in a physical altercation. Zimmerman’s acquittal on a second-degree murder charge inspired protests around the country.

Follow us on Twitter: @Tffhthewriter @gripmagonline