Black Lives Matter marks ten-year anniversary

The Black Lives Matter movement is marking ten years of activism on Thursday, since it was founded in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in the United States.

The Black teenager, aged 17 at the time, was gunned down in the Florida gated community where his father lived in 2012. 

His death ignited a movement that has since become a major force that wields influence over national politics, law enforcement and broader conversations about racial progress both in and outside of the U.S.. 

Local and national organisations have planned events for this weekend to mark the ten year anniversary of BLM. 

Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, has been invited to speak at a BLM festival in Los Angeles on Saturday.