Thursday, November 13, 2008

Don't Forget About Me

Day 44 - Photo 44. Candlelight vigils are something we photographers come to fear. The collective groan goes out when the assignment comes along. I'm not sure why photographers don't seem to "want" that assignment. For me, I've always dreaded it. It's a bunch of really sad people with candles remembering something tragic and nearly always involves a child. And the pain, anguish and misery are usually palpable. Tonight was no different.

Three years ago tonight an 11-year-old girl, named Mynisha Crenshaw, died in a hail of bullets from an automatic weapon as she sat down to dinner with her family. Mynisha was not the intended target, but the assailants or bullets didn't discriminate. Sadly, the tragedy was all to familiar to the residents in Mynisha's neighborhood. Though...something...shifted that night. And in the days, weeks and months that followed, community leaders, residents and city officials became united in a fight. They said, "Enough!" They were tired of seeing the senseless deaths of so many young people. Thousands gathered to march on a neighborhood plagued by gangs, violence, drugs and shabby living conditions. City police were joined by county and state law enforcement, increasing a police presence. Youth programs and community centers sprung up. Violent deaths amongst youths was cut nearly in half from traditional statistic numbers.

Neighborhoods are still plagued by gangs, violence, drugs and shabby living conditions and the thousands that once marched through the streets saying "enough" have dwindled. Tonight about 100 people gathered on the step's of the city hall. One by one, grieving parents step forward and tell their stories. They talked about the hopes and dreams of their murdered children. Each of them shared how their children used to make them laugh and smile. They talked about how badly they missed them...because they knew they were never coming back. They fought back the tears and they begged us to never forget. I looked around at the children and thought of my own children and how I would not want them to be forgotten.

I've always dreaded covering candlelight vigils...it's a bunch of really sad people with candles remembering something tragic and nearly always involves a child. And the pain, anguish and misery are usually palpable. Tonight was no different, except...I won't forget.



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