From a young age, my mother always told my siblings and me different stories to not only entertain us but instill life lessons. These stories contained lessons that would not only guide us through life but make sure we got to keep it. Being raised as a minority in the United States is something that many don’t want to see or talk about, especially the privileged. My brothers were taught lessons on keeping their composure and subduing their anger not only to be on good behavior but so that they would survive in this cruel world. When a black man shows a hint of anger or anything other than happiness, the situation they’re in drastically escalates to them receiving serious bodily harm or death, whether it be with another man or with the police. My mother could not bear the thought of losing any of her children, so she made sure that we had all the necessary tools to not only survive but succeed. The stories she tells me resonate with me due to how easily that could be me in that situation.
A story that I believe deserves more media attention, and awareness in general, is the 215 bodies of prisoners in unmarked graves behind a Mississippi prison. The families and loved ones of these men were never informed of their passing, burying the bodies with on a metal pole and number, no name or message. A mother’s persistent investigation to find her child led to this gruesome discovery. Bettersten Wade had been looking for her son, Dexter Wade, for months before she was finally informed of her son’s death. Dexter had been killed by an off-duty police when he was struck by his vehicle, he was then buried in the graveyard behind the jail. During all those months Dexter was in that unmarked grave, his mother was looking for him. Upon this discovery, several other families came forward learning about their loved ones passing months after the search for them began. Melissa Faith Payne, the city’s director of communications stated, ‘”It is not a secret burial ground,” she said. “In those graves are the bodies of those who went unclaimed by family when they died. These persons are either homeless people, inmates from local jails who died but relatives never claimed their bodies, unidentified persons who officials were never able to connect with family, or even persons who died” whose families couldn’t afford a funeral’ (Chappell). The circumstances and facts around this investigation are disturbing and puzzling, the answer for these disrespectful acts is just not good enough. This story got brief mainstream coverage but in the end, this case is a tragic example of how certain stories, particularly those involving marginalized groups, are overlooked or underreported.
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