The 'Ville. The 1's and the 2's. The affordable apartment complex turned drug thoroughfare turned prevalence of poverty in three tumultuous decades. Unfortunately, the fact Essex has produced some of Richmond's best scholars, athletes, and politicians is vastly overshadowed by the notion of this neighborhood being one of danger and desperation. This is the spot where the Henrico PD resides in a No. 2 apartment like an elderly woman who only comes outside for mail, grocery, and laundry mat runs. It's here where the social assistance companies prey on families' misfortunes; helping [Medicaid only] children for a few weeks; but labeling them for a lifetime. This was the 'hood where a woman allowed her child to wander on the grassy medium on Laburnum Avenue while she enjoyed a night on the town some months ago. And it's where if a violent crime happens in Henrico, it's a pretty good chance it happens here. Speaking of violence, it is no stranger to this complex; with countless mothers experiencing the pain of losing a son or daughter to the unforgiving community, either by chance or by preparation. The following is a perspective on a story of the hurting.
A friend of mine, who is a persistent community activist (living in a Richmond 'hood but representing 'hoods region wide), stopped by my office Monday so we could catch up with each other about our work and other things. During our conversation she updated me on the end of the trial to convict the murderer of her oldest son. Despite over 20 witness of the killing in an Essex Village breezeway, the Henrico judge determined that there wasn't enough evidence to convict the accused of murder or conspiracy. The folks that gave testimony, the documentation of the seemingly unwarranted chase that the accused led police on, the cell phone conversations concerning the victim, it wasn't enough. As the friend was telling me the events of the trial, I pulled up the news report on the incident to follow along with her. There were obvious parallels and the reporter did an excellent job of capturing the character of this broken but resilient mother. Yet there were things that were crystal clear to me that her words and his ink didn't capture.
A snack for thought. When thinking about governments and other similarly structured organizations, there are times where I tend to side with the "everybody has an agenda" theory; which loosely implies a significant level of selfishness drives the decisions that affect others. This theory takes into account that the events that occur, regardless of how traumatic or menial, whoever is in control or in charge will make their choice of action based on their best interest. This is one of those times. It seems to me, based on the information I have received from reports and my friend, that convicting the alleged offender was not on the agenda of the county for various reasons. To protect the innocent, the guilty, the lazy, and the unconcerned I won't go further on that.
The other thing that I hope doesn't get lost in this is that illegal drugs of all types have the potential to bring sudden death aside from direct usage of the drug. My friend acknowledges that her son had some minor dealings in the marijuana trade, and it was reported that those minor dealings and a warm personality may have garnered some jealously from a few Essex residents, which more than likely lead to the execution-style shooting. Particularly in these days with the black media machine perpetuating the glory of the drug trade, coupled with the economic assumptions (and in some cases truths) of this country, too much of our youth are attracted to this line of work. Sadly, the harsh reality that includes 24 hour shifts, mistrust, paranoia, and envy consumes the participants until they hit one of the two eventual paths. And in this case, while the motive for death is somewhat hazy, the fact remains that drugs were involved on some level.
So what our governments and legal systems fail us, they were set up that way. We know that police choose to do only so much, but who can blame them? Still at some point we have to understand that we are not doing enough with regards to relative and practical education and care to not only save resources, but to enhance them. As my friend has eluded, we have allowed fear to seep into the very soul of our existence; where now it's common to call for injustice on social media and leave the fight there. Oddly, we have made a practice of skipping over working on the injustice and we are now embracing it. I understand we all have a different league that we can play in, but if everyone is in the stands, who's on the field?
As the cycle of pain continues, consider some move you may be able to make to persuade a good young person from walking into a hurtful place.
Peace
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