Planting A Legacy for Za’layia
Episode #079
“Each year we want [the garden] just to grow, and grow and grow.... Her little body can’t grow anymore so this is her body, and I want people to realize that. This is her...
“I understand that in this society, in this society, you got to know your child. He’s a follower, you know? I got to not let him be led by the wrong people. Because when you know the streets you can pick out the characters, when you got that street knowledge. My son doesn’t have that street knowledge.”
In our series we meet many families mourning a loved one killed by a gun. often this isn’t the only time they’ve been affected by gun violence. For example, three years earlier a cousin died in a driveby shooting at the gas station, a year ago an old high school friend was shot leaving the club. An uncle still has bullet fragments in his leg. What we hear illuminates what scholars tell us — that the vast majority of homicides occur within a very small network of people. So, if you’re in that network how can you escape? How can you keep your kids safe? One dad in Milwaukee is trying to shield his son from the kinds of tragedies he has experienced when young.
