“I honestly really thought that our generation would be a Utopia,” said Sanford teenager Bryce Roberts.
Roberts is 15 years old. He lives in the Colonial Village at Twin Lakes, an apartment complex next door to the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford where Trayvon Martin was killed on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Bryce's mother cries when she hears her son's new reality.
“I feel like my child's innocence has been taken. It's a very hard concept,” explained Bryce's mother Jennifer Roberts.
Bryce Roberts, Martin Van Buren and Izayah Thorb are all 15-year-old black teenagers who either live in or near Sanford.
They gathered to share their feelings on the Trayvon Martin case with News 13 Thursday night.
The group of friends said the Trayvon Martin case has changed their perception of the world around them.
“It's forced me to look at the world as black versus white, and not people versus people,” shared Orlando teenager Izayah Thorb.
“I'm going to say that, I'm gonna start looking out for this type of thing,” Roberts added.
“I've never really cared about the looks people gave me or anything, but seeing how people look at you, feels like you're being judged now based on the color you are,” shared Altamonte Springs teenager Martin Van Buren Jr.
Martin's father says since Trayvon's death, he has had to break down the issue of race to his son.
“It's just become real to him. I never really told him how to conduct himself because like he was telling you, he never saw color, he just thought the world was just blasé blasé and we're all the same,” said Martin Van Buren Sr.
“I don't feel safe. I don't feel safe because we're still in the same mindset that we were back in the 1960s when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech... 'I have a dream',” Thorb told News 13.
“I don't feel safe as a teenager anymore,” Thorb reiterated.
Thorb continued that he is typical teenager who likes to hang out and spend time at the movies. However, recently his theater attire has changed.
“I have actually refrained from wearing hoods because it's that fear factor that comes into play. You don't know what... well you know what people are capable of nowadays it makes you wanna watch out on the types of things I wear.”
Bryce Roberts agrees saying it's a lesson learned.
“I think I've learned that I can no longer dress a certain way or act a certain way,” Roberts stated.
Van Buren Jr., who is self-admitted daydreamer, said that one of the lessons he has learned is to be aware of his surroundings.
“If someone is following me, I'm going to try to be more aware of it. I'm never really usually paying attention to stuff that's going on and I guess I should start because I don't want the same thing to happen to me or anyone else.”
Thorb concluded that the Trayvon Martin case has given him a glimpse into how “real” the world can be.
“It has opened my eyes to what people are capable of. Not everyone is nice. People are mean. They're people who want to see you fail. They don't want to see you be successful and that's how I believe I can take that into my adulthood,” Thorb concluded.