Community rally turns tragic death of Atatiana Jefferson into call for activism, voting
A tragedy turned into a call for action at Sunday’s community rally to honor the memory of Atatiana Jefferson.
Community leaders, activists and Jefferson’s family members pleaded to a crowd of Fort Worth residents to register to vote. They also called for new leadership in the offices of Texas Attorney General and Tarrant County District Attorney, along with community oversight of police.
Organizations such as Funky Town Fridge, United My Justice, United Fort Worth and Powered by People attended the rally to help prevent a similar tragedy and fight for timely justice.
“I think it is something that should happen every year, one until we get a conviction, and then, two, just to continue to honor her name,” said attendee Latoya Jackson.
Jefferson, 28, was shot and killed in her home by police officer Aaron Dean on Oct. 12, 2019 while babysitting her nephew. A murder trial date has been set for Nov. 16.
The event was part of the first “Pull Up for Tay” event just two days before the second anniversary of Jefferson’s death. More than 1,000 people attended a downtown parade Saturday in her honor.
“What I wanted to do for this particular event is bring in other organizations, the activism community, so that we cannot work in silos and work cohesively ... so we can keep her name alive, we can know our history, know what happened, how this happened and to keep our narrative in place,” said Pamela Grayson, one of the organizers and and an Atatiana Project board member.
Longtime Fort Worth resident Ignacio Munoz, 33, said he attended community rallies last year after being shaken up upon hearing of Jefferson’s death. He said he attended this event to see what was being done about the case.
It’s “messed up ... you can’t just go to someone’s house and just shoot them,” Munoz said.
Although Lee Merritt, the family’s attorney, has previously told the Star-Telegram that he’s confident in the evidence against Dean, uncertainty remains over the trial and its outcome.
“Even with a conviction, it’s not over,” Grayson said. “Amber Guyger got 10 years and had the audacity to appeal that. We need to continue to protest, make noise, fight to make sure [Dean] gets a fair and just sentencing.”
Guyger, a Dallas police officer, was convicted in 2019 after she mistakenly entered Botham Jean’s apartment and fatally shot him.
Merritt, a Dallas civil rights attorney, also claimed that the Attorney General’s office and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office didn’t do enough in Jefferson’s case.
“You know how much of your tax dollars went to ensuring that something like this doesn’t happen again? Nothing,” Merritt said. “That is no longer going to be OK in the city of Fort Worth.”
Merritt announced his candidacy for Attorney General in July. He hopes to win the Democratic nomination and take on Republican incumbent Ken Paxton.
Albert Roberts, a candidate for district attorney, also spoke about the importance of police accountability in the office.
But Nysse Nelson, a member of Enough is Enough Fort Worth, said that community members helping the family individually is just as important.
“If y’all are counting on the system to fix this, then we’re already moving backwards,” Nelson said. “All we can do is ... help [the family] heal and help them keep their sister’s name out there.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 9:23 PM.
