Happy Birthday?
July 26, 2010 would have been the 23rd birthday of my late Cousin Michael Lamont Johnson. Instead, on December 10th, 2005, Mikey, as he was known by most (and so many others names to so many others) was slain by gun violence at the age of 18. When I logged into Facebook this morning, I saw a post from my sister and she had changed her profile picture to one of Mikey and my oldest niece. Since she was only two years old at the time, it is not likely that she will have any vivid memories of him. It occurred to me as I was looking at the picture however, that she, as well as my younger niece and nephews who were yet to be born while he was still alive, will be affected by his life and death.
Every year, on Mikey’s birthday we have a family cook out in honor of our fallen loved one. Although it is always a joyous occasion to get together with family and have a good time, it is tough to know the reason for the sadness behind the laughter and to feel the attempt being made to cover that sadness up. That sadness is still felt by the young when the adults are inevitably changed by loss and the dynamics of the family become critically damaged. The main person that made sure everyone got together on Mikeys birthday was his younger brother Jimmy. Last summer, he even arranged a cookout at a local park and the whole family came. This year, he won’t be able to do the same because he was killed this year on April 27th.
The true understanding of family structure has been lost over the past several generations and it has resulted in what we see today with young people killing each other. Young people are being put in the position to have to make decisions that require previous experience to be able to successfully navigate. This disconnect is a self perpetuating cycle and these constant shootings are obviously the most sensational images but they are also merely the culmination of the broken family chain. The chain is not just broken in one place, it is completely fragmented. In order for the chain to be repaired and become strong enough to bare the weight of future generations, each individual link needs to acknowledge its limitations and embrace the strength that can is created when we all rely on each other.
