With some arguing Trayvon Martin's name belongs alongside the likes of Emmett Till, Yusef Hawkins and Willie Edwards, officials at the Smithsonian Institution are looking to enshrine Martin's hooded sweatshirt forever at their newest museum.

The hooded sweatshirt — which Martin was wearing the night George Zimmerman shot and killed him — remains stored with other evidence from the case at the Department of Justice. But the Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture Lonnie Bunch is eyeing the hoodie for a display at the museum.

“It became the symbolic way to talk the Trayvon Martin case. It’s rare that you get one artifact that really becomes the symbol,” Bunch told The Washington Post. “Because it’s such a symbol, it would allow you to talk about race in the age of Obama.”

The museum's director said the hoodie represents the chance to further discussions about race in America and is hopeful its presence helps shape perceptions.

“Are we in a post-racial age?” Bunch asked. “This trial says, ‘No.’"

However, according to the Smithsonian's Facebook page, officials with the museum said Friday they do not have plays for Martin's hoodie, contrary to Bunch's statements.

"Despite reports, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is not currently seeking to add Trayvon Martin’s hoodie to its collection. We recognize that certain items related to the Trayvon Martin trial could one day have historical value and provide a way to study and discuss race in America," the page states. "Acquiring any object for our museum involves rigorous consultation with a team of museum historians and curators. Any items connected to the Trayvon Martin case – should they even become available – would have to go through that lengthy process."

The Rev. Al Sharpton — who has encouraged rallies and protests nationwide for Martin — has pushed for the Smithsonian to display the hoodie, likening it to having a piece of clothing from Till.

“The hoodie now represents an image of an urban street kid that either embraces or engages in street thug life,” he said. “I think it’s unfair.”

Martin's sweatshirt became a powerful symbol of the case after Zimmerman shot and killed the 17-year-old last year. Following Zimmerman's acquittal last month, protesters took to the streets of metropolitan cities nationwide donning hooded sweatshirts. Supporters of Martin and his family even doctored a photo of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, adding in a hoodie.



The sweatshirt will be officially returned to Martin's family after the Justice Department concludes its investigation.



The museum is being built on the National Mall at the corner of 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Construction is slated to conclude in 2015.

This story has been updated to include new information.