I know and you know that blogposts and
facebook posts don’t save lives. I know they can’t change much that is wrong
with the world but when a life is lost for an apparently unjust reason, they do
say one thing: that life matters.
Because every word or expression of regret
or prayer on behalf of a bereaved family is acknowledgement that a life snuffed
out in a minute is still a life to be honored.
That life is not gone but alive in the memory and the hearts of loved
ones. That God given life is also alive
in the hearts of others moved by their story.
Fifteen year old Jordan Edwards was such a
life. Jordan Edwards was shot by an officer in a
suburb outside of Dallas on April 29 of this year. Jordan and his brothers and friends were leaving
a party that they feared was getting rowdy.
They got into their vehicle and attempted to drive off but were met with
bullets shot by the police car behind them.
The police body cam verified their story and the police department
subsequently fired the officer who shot and killed Jordan. That officer is now
facing murder charges.
Let that sink in. That officer is now facing murder charges. We
know for complicated reasons young black men die at the hands of each other far
too often in our inner cities and that
is just as egregious and needs serious attention. Policemen also lose their lives in the line of duty and that is equally upsetting. But the bottom line is that the police are the
professionals. We need them. We depend
on them to protect and serve.
So today and every time that a young man
or woman’s life has been cut short in questionable circumstances, I hope to
honor them. I hope to remember them in love and recount the story told in Ta Nehisi Coates’ insightful book, Between the world and me about a young friend whose life was cut
short:
Think of all the love
poured into him. Think of the gasoline expended, the treads worn carting him to
football games, basketball tournaments, and Little League. Think of
the time spent regulating sleepovers. Think of the surprise birthday
parties, the daycare and the reference checks on babysitters. Think of World
Book and Childcraft. Think of checks written for
family photos. Think of credit cards checked for vacations.
Think of soccer balls, science kits, chemistry sets, racetracks, and model
trains. Think of all the embraces, all the private
jokes, customs, greetings, names, dreams, all the shared knowledge and capacity
of a black family injected into the vessel of flesh and bone. And
think of how that vessel was taken, shattered on the concrete, and all its holy
contents, all that had gone into him, sent flowing back to the earth.
Jordan Edwards' life matters to his friends and loved ones.
His life also matters to me.
His life also matters to me.
https://www.annecbailey.net
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