The faces of Lezley McSpadden, Lucy McBath and Sybrina Fulton were as familiar as any of the countless celebrities that flooded the Ernest Morial Convention Center on Saturday for ESSENCE Festival 2016.
They stood before the audience as part of the Empowerment Session programming and activities that take place to compliment the annual weekend of concerts.
Most of the sessions are uplifting and inspirational. But among the motivation are exploration and discussions about hard truths faced by African Americans.
The “Mothers Moments of Courage” talk featuring the mothers of Michael Brown, Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin was among the toughest to swallow.
“We know their names, but it’s for a heartbreaking reason,” ESSENCE Editor at Large and Empowerment Session host Miki Taylor told the audience. “These mothers will share their stories of loss, their journey towards healing and how they found the courage to get to the other side of the pain.”
The trio belongs to a growing sorority of mothers who have lost children to gun violence, but their heartbreak had added stress and anguish.
They watched their sons’ deaths become flashpoints for protest, unrest and heated dialogue around the subject of race because of the circumstances surrounding the respective tragedies.
“I am the mother of a young man who was shot down and killed due to systemic racism and implicit biased that played out through gun violence,” McBath said. “I stand before you today because of the many people who have prayed over me and my family in the midst of our tragedy.”
In 2012, her son Jordan Davis was killed in what media came to call the “loud music” case. Michael Dunn, a white man, fired into the vehicle when the group of young teenagers refused to turn down their music in Jacksonville, Florida. Davis was instantly killed. Two of his friends were injured.
Dunn was convicted of first degree murder and attempted murder.
“Sadly to say, we are one of the only cases in the United States where there was a shooter who was a white male and the victim was a young black male where there has been a sense of justice,” McBath said. “I always say, ‘there is still not justice’ because we are we are one of the only families – by the grace of God – who have received justice.”
Because of the nightmare that played out in the streets of Ferguson and neighboring St. Louis County municipalities when it was announced that Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the death of Michael Brown in November of 2014, it goes without saying that McSpadden falls within the category of the justice denied.
Her experience differed from the other two mothers because her son’s death came at the hands of a law enforcement officer, who claimed that deadly force was necessary against the unarmed 18 year old.
With tears already flowing from her face, she had to take a moment to regroup before her portion of the talk began.
“We need everyone to come together and empower us as well,” McSapdden said. “Because this is a hard journey once you are thrust into it – and you have to walk this journey every day of your life and you don’t anything to heal as far as justice is concerned.”
She counted Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton as part of her support system.
“She was the first person to come to St. Louis and meet me, hug me and encourage me,” McSpadden said.
Fulton saw her son’s name become a social media trending topic and spark heated debate when George Zimmerman hunted Martin down and shot him in a Sanford, Florida gated community in 2012.
“None of us wanted to be in this position,” Fulton said. “But when you’re dealt a hand of cards, sometimes you have to play the hand that you are given – even when you have no trumps, even when you have no spades, even when you have no kings or queens.”
Fulton became a household because of her activism in response to her son’s death.
“When this first happened to Trayvon, people always walk up to me and tell me how strong I am. But what people don’t see are my broken pieces,” Fulton said. “You didn’t see those times when I was crawling on the floor.
Four years later, don’t think for one second that I don’t think about him every single day. A lot of people come up to us and tell us about our child, but we think about our children every day – even though they are in heaven.”
She challenged the audience to continue to stand with them in, and continue to speak out to ensure that their sons deaths be in vain.
She also demanded that they vote and take advantage of the full range of experiences as ESSENCE Festival with respect to the programming with a more serious tone.
“I know you come here with your girlfriends for a getaway – or with your boo – but Also remember ESSENCE is about purpose,” Fulton said.
