Where Are the Cries for Justice? Life in my broken city.
“That was the most hurtful thing, seeing them put him in a body bag," Ciara Burke said. She is the girlfriend of Brandon Washington and the mother of his 8-month-old child. Brandon Washington was shot and killed a week ago at a North Macon gas station for no known reason. Brandon Washington was an African-American man killed in Macon by two 19-year-old African-American young men. Ciara Burke said that Brandon was “a very sweet guy -- he was chill, laidback, loved kids." She said he was an amazing person, and an amazing father to their 8-month-old daughter. "He was the greatest father. I wouldn't wish for anyone else to be his father. He was basically a 'Go to work and come home to his family' type of person," Burke said. His daughter will grow up never knowing his father and two young men with their whole lives in front of them may die in prison.
Where are the cries for justice?
Where is the outrage?
Where are the social media posts pleading for changes?
“More African-Americans have been killed in Bibb County during 2020 than any other race,” was the WGXA October 5, 2020 headline. At that point in the year there had been 38 homicides. Thirty two of them were African-American and almost all had been killed by another African-American. The year would end with a record breaking number of homicides for the city.
“Jasmine Williams is the cousin of 15-year-old, Jamerian Lawrence. Lawrence was killed in a drive-by shooting. He was one of six teens to die violently this year.
"He didn't get to live his life really. He still was young," Jasmine Williams said.
Joyce Cephus was the best friend of 22-year-old, Jhacaya Mann. Mann was one of six who got shot on Thanksgiving Day at the Thirsty Turtle, she did not survive.
(Source 13 WMAZ)
Where are the cries for justice?
Where is the outrage?
Where are the social media posts pleading for changes?
Please don’t take this post as another white guy looking for a way to deny the problems that exist in our justice system or with police departments. I’m really not that guy. I am thankful that the growing pleas for justice across our nation seem to be making a difference. I have been vocal in several of the recent cases of what seemed to be obvious injustice. Like many of you I want to see true and equal justice! But justice, true justice runs much deeper than just the actions of white police officers and black men being arrested. I’m not saying stop calling for that justice; I am saying isn’t there more?
What can be done to right the wrongs that have led to the broken lives of African Americans in our city? What can we do to bring hope to hopeless neighborhoods and communities that see no future?
How do we help others see the value of life, whether that be their own life or the lives of others?
What can we do to break generational poverty?
Are there steps that we can take together to strengthen families? To strengthen the education system?
I’m weary of my social media feeds filling with cries for justice for far away events and nothing more. I am saddened and sickened by the growing number of murdered black men in my city at the hands of other black men and my social media feed reflecting almost nothing. It doesn’t have to be this way.
I want to DO something more.
And I want my church to DO something more.
I want others to join us.
I want to see hopelessness eradicated. I want to see life valued and enjoyed. I want to see people thriving and neighborhoods healthy. I want to see more jobs and better education. I want to see marriages and families strengthened. I want to see those broken things mended.
I want to see a new city, a new people.
I want to see the Kingdom breaking in on my city, now.
I don’t know all of the details on how to see that, but I know this - sitting on my hands and behind my computer screen complaining isn’t going to fix much of anything here.
So I won’t just watch any longer. And I won’t be silent about the darkness of my city.
Black lives do matter. And not just on TV or social media. They matter right here in Macon, Georgia.
