Mourning Black mothers gather to support Black Love Matters, wish for better outcomes
A rally Saturday honoring two Black photographers and family members who have lost their loved ones to violence culminated in a balloon release and a wish that no other parents would have to suffer the pain of the violent death of a child.
The evening rally carried the theme, “Black Love Matters,” and one of the parents who spoke has recently felt the pain of losing her 14-year-old son in a suspected drive-by shooting.
Jacari Simmons was in the living room of his Fort Worth home when he was shot along with his brother, who was injured, according to police. Bianca Russell, 37, Simmons’ mother, continues to mourn his passing.
Simmons was fluent in English and Spanish and was preparing to begin studying a third language, Russell said. Her son was a sweet, thoughtful soul, she said.
“I was so happy to be his mother,” Russell said. “But from the moment the doctor told me it was gong to be a boy, I started praying. The things you start thinking about are the police and the streets.”
One of the photographers honored, Madison Hogan, 74, said he started taking pictures in 1963 while attending I.M. Terrell High School.
“I just never stopped taking pictures,” Hogan said. “I do it for free. I want to keep people informed and this is how I do it.”
Hogan said he was in Washington, D.C., during Watergate, in Dallas where he saw President John Kennedy before he was killed, and in Vietnam during the start of the war, and his regret is that he did not take more pictures.
Hogan, a member of an organization called the United Front in the ‘70s in Fort Worth, said he also remembers protesting against discrimination and police brutality.
“The same thing they are protesting against now,” Hogan said.
The other photographer who was a recipient of the Stone of Hope award, Don Mooney, was unable to attend because of another commitment, according to the event’s organizer, Kyev Tatum.
But Hogan, Russell, Antoinette Carter, and other bereaved family members stood for a prayer and watched as their star-shaped red and white Mylar balloons disappeared in the evening sky.
Carter is the mother of Nylah Lightfoot, 14, who died on May 29, 2018, after being taken to John Peter Smith Hospital with stab wounds to her neck and chest after a fight at the Sycamore Center Villas apartment complex in south Fort Worth.
Lightfoot’s off-and-on best friend, who was also 14, was sentenced to 25 years’ detention after being found guilty of her murder in 2019.
“It still hurts,” Carter said. “For the last two or three weeks, I’ve cried myself to sleep. Don’t nobody know. I lock myself up in my room away from my kids. I hear it gets better, but I ain’t seen an easy spot yet.”
There were others there. More than 55 pictures of mostly young Black men and women — victims of violence — surrounded the lawn of New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, where Tatum is a pastor.
“Our times demand that we grapple with the mental health illness caused by the trauma” of Black on Black crime, Tatum said in a news release announcing the event.
The rally was scheduled to take place at 6 p.m., but was late because cars continued to line up at a food give-away sponsored by the church. Cars continued to drive through the church parking lot as the rally commenced.
People also came to pick up free box dinners provided by In-N-Out Burger. An In-N-Out volunteer announced that more than 650 dinners had been distributed before the evening ended.
Some people stayed after getting food — some did not.
Before the rally, Russell said she was not a political person, and that she understood that police were often in dangerous and serious situations.
But so is everyone.
“Black love matters,” Russell said. “But that’s not the big picture. I think the whole world is in danger.”
Russell said her focus would be on the people going to sleep with their babies still in the streets.
“We need a change,” Russell said. “Something needs to change. What we are doing tonight, that hasn’t been done before. Let’s do something different. Everyone should elevate. If you built a church, run for office. If you built a house, build an office building. We all need to up our games.”
