Sybrina Fulton and Christine Wells Wonsley Share a First Meeting at CBCF Conference

Sybrina Fulton and Christine Wells Wonsley met for the first time this week at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 55th Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., bringing together two mothers whose sons’ deaths have drawn public grief, scrutiny and calls for accountability.

Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, and Wonsley, the mother of Nolan Xavier Wells, were seen embracing and posing for photographs in content shared publicly from the gathering. Fulton also referenced Wells, King Carter and Jordan Davis in posts connected to the conference. Attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Wells family, separately shared content identifying the encounter as the mothers’ first meeting.

The conference, held Sept. 16–20 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, included a program honoring parents who have carried their children’s legacies into public advocacy. The U.S. Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys’ programming recognized the families of Martin, Wells and King Carter, as well as Rep. Lucy McBath, whose 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was killed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2012.

The meeting came less than three months after Wells, an 18-year-old Ocean Springs, Mississippi, student-athlete, disappeared during a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island. His body was found in the water near the island two days later. Wells had played wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College after graduating from Ocean Springs High School.

The circumstances of his death remain unresolved. Jackson County authorities have continued investigating and have asked witnesses to provide original photographs, video or other information from Horn Island. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family listed both the cause and manner of death as undetermined. The state medical examiner’s findings have not been publicly released.

Wonsley and Wells’ father, Elmore Wonsley, have called for a complete and transparent investigation. Crump has also urged additional scrutiny of the case. Public reporting has noted that investigators have said Wells did not return to the mainland with the group he arrived with, while his family has continued to seek a fuller account of what happened before his body was found.

Fulton has spent more than 14 years living with the public consequences of Martin’s death. Martin, 17, was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, on Feb. 26, 2012, after being followed by neighborhood-watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was acquitted of homicide charges in 2013, while Martin’s death helped ignite nationwide protests and a lasting debate over race, self-defense laws and the treatment of Black children and teenagers. Fulton later became a prominent advocate for community safety and accountability through the Trayvon Martin Foundation and other public work.

The cases are different, and the meeting does not resolve the questions surrounding either family’s loss. But the embrace between Fulton and Wonsley offered a quiet recognition between two women who understand the particular pain of grieving a son while his name remains part of a larger public conversation. At a conference centered on Black leadership, policy and collective action, their first meeting also reflected the private connections that can form among families carrying grief into the public square.