Mother’s Day is a time for celebrating not only the women who gave birth to us but the women who have been instrumental in our upbringing. However, due to police and vigilante murders, the way that some mothers participated in the special occasion this year was forever altered.
Dominika Stanley and Mertilla Jones
Dominika Stanley is the mother of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7, who while sleeping at her grandmother Mertilla Jones’ home, was murdered by Detroit police during a raid conducted by their Special Response Team.
Joseph Weekley, the officer who killed Jones, claimed that her grandmother reached for his gun, causing the bullet to mistakenly strike and kill the seven-year-old. It is important to acknowledge both women, as they were each instrumental in Jones’ life.
During the trial Jones’ grandmother stated, “You killed her. You tried to blame me. You know I never touched you, Mr. Weekley… You know you wrong.”
Both of these women never received justice, as the Weekley case was declared a mistrial twice.
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Esaw Garner
The world witnessed the murder of Eric Garner, 43, via cellphone video footage, and observed Garner tell the New York police, “I can’t breathe” as officers held him in a chokehold. Although Garner’s death angered communities both domestic and foreign to the point of protest, we cannot begin to understand the pain that Garner’s wife and mother of his children, Esaw Garner, feels, particularly because officers involved in the case were not charged.
As Garner celebrated Mother’s Day, one could only imagine the thoughts that crossed her mind in remembering her late husband and father of her children.
