Ramping Up

This is Black History month and I feel compelled to honor that. However, I'm dismayed that so few realize ourstory today is being turned into history tomorrow. We also forget that ourstory is comprised of the good, the bad and the ugly; frequently we focus on the good, as though any attention to the bad and the ugly will negate the good. It won't.

I'm saving some space here for the badness and the ugliness ...

A Part of Ourstory from December 2003

Mr. Kenny Walker of Georgia was shot in the head, execution-style, after being stopped by police for suspected drug trafficking.

According to the Sheriff's Department account, Deputies, acting on behalf of information from the Metro Narcotics Task Force, pulled over a gray Yukon on I-85 around 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10. However, what happened after that is an issue, which remains cloudy, with few answers and even fewer facts. What has been clearly established is that Mr. Walker was not involved in any criminal activity. Mr. Walker did not have a criminal record. Mr. Walker was not armed. Mr. Walker did not 'resist' arrest. Mr. Walker was shot twice by a deputy who the Sheriff's department refuses to name. Mr. Walker was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at around 2:25 a.m. on Thursday, December 11.

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This is still a part of ourstory in the 21st century. Should we choose to ignore it, or relegate incidents like these to the unfortunate incident pile we do a disservice to our children and to ourselves.