Memorial for a year of homicide victims
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
Every January the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department releases crime statistics for the previous year. Since 2003, according to the department, homicide rates have been at all-time lows, but the untold story behind murder statistics is the impact that violence has on families.
Jeanette Culpepper has made it her mission to ensure that victims of violent crimes are not forgotten. When her 22-year-old son Curtis was killed in May 1991 – a black man slain by a black juvenile – just one month after the highly publicized, interracial Chain of Rocks Bridge case, Culpepper noticed coverage of her son’s murder hardly garnered any media attention. The painful ordeal prompted her to create Families Advocating Safe Streets (FAST), an organization dedicated to calling much-needed attention to all homicide cases.
“When I started FAST, it was really for crime to be treated equally. My son was killed after the girls on the bridge (Julie and Robin Kerry), and I saw the difference in how the cases were treated,” Culpepper said.
“It showed a difference in black-on-black and black-on-white crime. There is a difference in St. Louis, whether it’s accepted or not. You had other murders that year that didn’t even make the news or that were like my son’s, that only had a little space in the paper.”
“When the end of the year came, I had a candlelight service, because they hadn’t thought about the other homicide victims that year. The next year, I had no intention of doing it again, but my mind kept thinking about who would do something for the rest of the victims.”
Each year, Culpepper organizes a candlelight vigil on New Year’s Eve to recognize lives lost to violence. This year’s vigil was held at El-Bethel Church of God in Christ on Page Boulevard, just a few blocks from the scene of her son’s murder. About 50 citizens turned out to show their support and hear words of comfort from Mayor Francis G. Slay, Police Chief Joe Mokwa and Fire Chief Sherman George. After making brief comments, they made quick exits, presumably to deal with First Night festivities being held nearby.
“Losing a loved one is like losing a part of your heart,” Mayor Slay said.
“Your life is changed forever. And, while you may come to terms with your grief and pick up the pieces, there will always be that gap in your life that your loved one filled.”
Elizabeth Watkins and Culpepper were united in their grief when Watkins lost two sons, Timothy and Mark Anthony, to violence. Her first son was murdered in Miami in 1990, and the second was killed in St. Louis in October 1991. Watkins, too, noticed that media attention to her younger son’s murder in the wake of the Chain of Rocks Bridge case was minimal at best. She immediately joined forces with her friend at FAST and went to work trying to drum up attention for homicide cases that were not deemed worthy of major news coverage.
“We walked in the rain and in the snow. At first, it was just Jeanette and I and her people,” Watkins said.
“Then, we had some ministers join us. As Jeanette became better acquainted with the police department, they stared coming as well.”
She said the purpose of the candlelight vigil is “to give families of victims a reason to believe that something will be done for their loved one and to help them learn how to work with the police. The vigil also shows them that someone that they don’t even know has compassion for them and understands what they’re going through.”
Watkins offered practical advice to community members. “It’s important to not just let the police do all the work,” she said, “but to give them any information that you might have and to stay on them to try to get your case solved.”
Justice for victims of homicide, especially black-on-black crime, often proves elusive, which makes the grieving process more difficult. Culpepper said she is still angry that her son’s killer was found not guilty and released from custody.
“I’m angry, because he walks the streets. I’m angry because I had to ask police to work the case, but it’s an anger that I don’t dwell on because if I dwell on it I won’t move forward,” Culpepper said.
Culpepper said she hopes FAST will inspire families of homicide victims to demand equal treatment and attention.
“We can’t sit around and wait for the white man to do something for us. We have to do it for ourselves. We have to demand justice,” Culpepper said.
“What the police have on the side of their car is to protect and to serve. They can’t protect you, but they can serve you and we should demand that they serve us.”
Culpepper offers one-on-one counseling and support for families of homicide victims. For more information about Families Advocating Safe Streets, call (314) 420-7186.
