So this post is a hard one to write. Let me start off by saying I refuse to hashtag another name. It’s beginning to be too much to bear. Scrolling through my timeline I see countless hashtags of the names of people we as a community have lost and I just can’t find the emotions to contribute. But this post isn’t about that. This post is about a young lady in our community as a world who lost her life senselessly and about how her “friends” are not coming forward with the truth. I can’t imagine what this mother is going through knowing that there is someone out there who knows the truth about her daughter’s death yet won’t “snitch.”

Parents, Village, Community, we have got to do better. In a society where “snitches get stitches” what do the families of these victims get…another hashtag?! We have to start standing up and demanding that our children and those around us do what is right, even if that means their life may be altered as well.  I know some will say, Nik would you tell your kid to do something that would possibly put them in jail. My answer…YES! It’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day, I’m not raising any cowards.  That’s what these so-called friends are cowards! And if you are the parent/family member of one of these individuals and you turn a blind eye to the that fact that they may have information to give that can help give this family peace, then you are an even bigger coward than they are.

My heart aches for this family! I can’t express it any clearer than I’ve said in previous post. It is our responsibility to instill in the next generation values that help them live to their full potential. If all we are leaving them is hashtags then we are failing miserably and really need to re-evaluate our own values. I challenge you all to talk to your children and other young people around you to see how they are dealing with the death of this beautiful spirit. Ask them what they would do in this case and open up the conversation to provide a lesson to guide them to be a better person.