Darius [Simmons] lived just a few blocks from All Peoples Church. I would see
him as I walked past his house on my way home from work. I would see him
on the basketball courts in the neighborhood. I would see him weeding
and watering as he learned job training and life skills through our Kids Working To Succeed work-ministry. And I would see him in worship, praying and singing.
Darius
acted in small ways. He often was recognized as the “Hardest worker of
the day.” He recruited more youth to join the church than any other
kid. And he was funny.
Darius was a beloved classmate at his school. He is remembered for his generous spirit and his playful nature. He was a remarkable young man.
This child, only 13 years old, gunned down outside of his house- in front of his mother- because his neighbor suspected he had been involved in a robbery. Gunned down, because his white neighbor believed the narrative that young and black and male equals criminal. His neighbor never knew the child who brought others to church, or tended the community garden or any other fact that might have shown him the person inside his stereotype. Instead he fired on an unarmed 13 year old kid who was home sick from school.
How many more grieving parents before we demand a new narrative from our media and our leaders?
How many more kids must we bury before we understand this scourge that eats away the soul of our nation?
How long before we have justice for all?
