National
‘No Greater Pain’ Than Burying Your Murdered Child
Mothers of murdered children (left to right): Constance Wilson, Vanessa Byrd and Andrea Clark.
By Zenobia Jeffries
Special to the NNPA
SPECIAL REPORT
DETROIT – Most women say there is no greater pain than to bear a child, I say there is no greater pain than to bury one. — Andrea Clark, founder, Mothers of Murdered Children
Three Detroit youths were shot in one incident last month. One died. Two were critically wounded. Their ages range from late teens to early 20s. According to the Detroit Police Department: “Three (B)lack males were sitting in a red Pontiac G6 when an unknown (B)lack male driving an unknown black vehicle pulled up, got out of the vehicle, walked to their vehicle and started firing shots.”
No further information was given. The suspect had not been apprehended at press time.
“No parent should have to bury their child. It’s not the natural order of things,” says Andrea Clark, founder of local organization Mother of Murdered Children.
Yet, increasingly thousands of mothers and fathers across the country have joined the growing number of parents who suffer from losing a child to gun and other physical violence. Many of the victims under 25 years of age have been killed by members of their own communities, others by law enforcement officers sworn to protect and serve them.
Detroit topped the list of most dangerous cities for the second year in a row with a violent crime rate of 2,072 per 100,000 and murder rate of 45 per 100,000. And although overall violent crime numbers are down in the city emerging from bankruptcy, homicides are up 14 percent. There was nearly a homicide a day in March — more than 20, according to the Detroit Police Commission. There have been 113 homicides in the city so far this year.
More than 80 percent of Detroit’s 700,000 residents are African American. It is joined by cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, Md. that have predominately or large numbers of Black citizens, and high crime rates.
According to the Washington Post, U.S. police officers have shot and killed 385 people in the past five months, a rate of more than two people a day.
With the killing of Eric Garner by a New York police officer who choked Garner to death, followed by the shooting-death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, countless other killings of Black males and protests of injustice over their deaths have headlined media broadcasts and publications — as well as flooded social media sites, for nearly a year.
The mission of MOMC is to prevent violence through education and proactive intervention with children, young adults, families and community organizations. Frustrated with the lack of support and resources in their communities, MOMC joined similar organizations nationwide in the nation’s capital recently to lobby for policy to end gun violence (and homicides) in the U.S.
The other organizations included Mothers In Charge Inc., WAMD —Women Across America Making a Difference; PEACE — Parents Encouraging Accountability and Closure for Everyone; and Mothers Against Gun Violence), along with residents from their communities will gather at the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool for The Standing for Peace and Justice Rally calling on lawmakers to declare gun violence/homicide … a public health crisis.
Homicide is the leading cause of death among young African American males between 14 and 25 years of age. Such information is rarely included in the national debate about the epidemic of gun violence in America, says Clark.
Gun violence has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 men, women and children in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Killers, the CDC reports, used guns to murder 11,000 people in 2010 in the U.S., the latest year for which statistics are available. Twenty thousand others used guns to commit suicides that year and 73,000 were rushed to hospital emergency rooms for gunshot wounds
Clark’s son, Darnell, was killed in April 2011. He was taking pictures for a friend’s birthday at a nightclub in downtown Detroit when a fight broke out. Clark says the security for the nightclub had everyone exit the building. While attempting to drive away in his vehicle, shots rang out and Darnell was struck. Clark’s grief led her to create the organization Mothers of Murdered Children, only months later.
“I was just reaching for anything, a lifeline, anything,” she says, explaining the challenges she endured in getting information from the DPD regarding her son’s case. With questions looming, she spoke to a friend about the idea of a group to help mothers who experience her same suffering. MOMC was a vision from God she says.
“Once I started talking to all these different mothers, I just put my (pain) on the back burner. I think I was living through their pain and trying to fix them. And forgot…,” her voice broke, and her eyes watered.
Although Andrea has told the story of her son’s death on multiple occasions she began to cry as she reminisced about the good times, and the irony.
Darnell was an aspiring photographer, and he was a dad — a great dad. “My son didn’t even like going to clubs,” she said.
Mary Groat, of Wyandotte, is one of the original members of MOMC. Her son Scott was killed December 2011while leaving a party where he’d just sung backup in a band. No one’s been charged in his death.
A musician and tattoo artist who was planning to open his own shop, Scott was also a youth speaker for Beacon Baptist Church.
“He was a goof ball, says Mary. “I can hear him say, “Ma, you better get in that church.”
Andrea and Mary share similar fates with Rose Ford whose son, Darrlye Miller, was killed for his Cartier glasses, also at a nightclub in downtown Detroit; Constance Williams whose son Justin was randomly shot and killed on the 4th of July at a park; Brenda Hill whose son Brandan Rogers was killed along with his friend Melynda Goodwin while walking her to her car; and Gail Dunson whose son Brian was killed in his driveway.
“Senseless gun violence,” is how Williams describes the cause of her son’s death.
It was July 2013. A fight broke out at a neighborhood fireworks display on the west side of the city. Justin, 24, had taken the day off from work to take his younger sister, who was 18, to see the fireworks held annually in Outer Drive/Schafer area.
“What I’ve heard is that earlier in the evening a fight broke out, my son wasn’t involved,” Williams said.
She described her son as sheltered.
“He grew up in Catholic school (although he graduated from a Detroit Public School) because I was afraid of gangs,” she pauses. “To know Justin is to love him.”
Her son’s death came as a shock to anyone who knew him, Williams says.
“He was the type of person who, if trouble was breaking out he was going the other way. He wasn’t about the business of trouble he was about going to school, going to work, making money the legal way,” she said.
And helping others. Though it may not have been is ideal job, says his mother, Justin was a mental health assistant at the Samaritan Center.
“Helping people was Justin’s nature,” she said.
Justin’s case is still open, and Constance Williams like many other mothers has found herself without closure.
“The police did the investigation….One person came into the funeral home and came up to me and asked, ‘Are you his mother? … I saw everything” (they) wanted to go into detail, but I wasn’t the strong person I am now, told (them) to give it to my best friend, who was next to me.
I provided that information to the detective. He said he visited, but because (the person) was drinking and smoking weed (they) couldn’t be a credible witness.”
Personalities clashed, says Williams, a city worker for almost 30 years.
“It’s been quite a task dealing with the police department. I try to be sympathetic but not to the point where they forget about my son’s case,” she said. “I know Justin’s case is not the only case…but (he) could have followed up. I’m a grieving mom, but I’m not expecting anybody to do anything special for me. The same level I’m expecting for my son, anybody should get. I know they have a lot, but I don’t want his file to get to the bottom of the file.”
Scott and Justin’s cases are among hundreds of the DPD’s cold case files extending back more than 30 years. The unit, which was disbanded in 2013, was recently reinstated, according to DPD Asst. Chief Steve Dolunt.
“We’ve lost more lives to homicides in Detroit than in the last 30 years of war,” Dolunt said in an interview. “Isn’t that sad?”
For more information visit http://www.mothersofmurderedchildren.org, www.mothersincharge.org or http://wanmad.org, or call 215.228.1718 or 877.304.6667 (toll free).
Business
Car Wash Workers Cope with Lingering Impacts of ICE Raids
WAVE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — Hundreds of car wash workers across Southern California have been detained in federal immigration raids, leaving lingering impacts on families and communities. Mario, a 33-year U.S. resident and father of three, was arrested at a Santa Ana car wash last August and held for two months.
LOS ANGELES — Mario relied on his job in the car wash industry to raise his three children. It was during a shift at a Santa Ana car wash last August that he was arrested by federal agents, taken to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center and held for two months.
“They made me sleep on the cold floor for a week without a blanket, a toothbrush or basic medical care for the injured man next to me,” Mario, a 33-year resident of the United States, said at a news conference earlier this summer at Inglewood’s Crenshaw Imperial Car Wash, which is now closed after being raided by federal agents.
Mario, who is being identified only by his first name for safety reasons, is among hundreds of car wash workers detained across Southern California in the year since the Trump administration began an aggressive immigration crackdown in the region, according to the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center.
News of raids by masked agents has faded from the headlines, but the effects still linger for those caught in the crosshairs. Family members have been deported or left to languish in detention, and many who remain live with the fear of being hunted down by immigration officers.
At least 373 car wash workers have been detained at car washes across Southern California since the raids began last summer, according to figures compiled by CLEAN. The group’s data also shows federal agents raided or attempted to raid at least 106 car washes in communities across Los Angeles, Orange County and surrounding areas, including Inglewood, Culver City, Westchester, Bell and Whittier.
CLEAN, an advocacy group founded in 2007, has been fighting to protect car wash workers from exploitation and unsafe conditions. When the raids began last year, the group sprang into action, working around the clock to help detained workers and provide their families with legal and financial support.
“We gathered our information from workers, managers, and owners of the car washes that were being raided,” CLEAN Deputy Director Andrea Gonzalez said. “We also gathered information from rapid response teams who were on the ground responding to the raids.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on the group’s findings.
Mario said he was one of seven workers at the Harbor Blvd Car Wash detained on the same day last August, but the only one who has been released. He said he refused to sign deportation papers and is fighting to stay in the United States, a process that has drained his family emotionally and financially.
“Being released is not the same as being free,” he said.
During Mario’s detention at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, his wife and children struggled to cope with his sudden absence while fighting for his release, his wife Alejandra said.
“The employer gave us a video showing my husband being taken away under arrest, treated worse than a common criminal, with chains binding his legs, arms and waist,” Alejandra said. “It wasn’t right.”
The experience of a car wash worker named José was recounted at the news conference by the Rev. Andy Schwiebert of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, who said agents “took him” from the La Cienega Car Wash last August.
José’s wife is a U.S. citizen, Schwiebert said, and José had a pathway to gaining citizenship before he was detained. By the time a judge ordered his release on bond, the car wash had shut down, Schwiebert said, leaving José without a job.
“These raids did not just target workers; they destabilized families, congregations, workplaces and entire communities,” Schwiebert said.
The administration’s aggressive enforcement operations have continued across the nation in the months since José’s and Mario’s detention, with ICE arrests in July surging to their highest rate so far under President Donald Trump.
Last month, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three in Houston. Less than a week later, an immigration officer fatally shot 26-year-old Johan Sebastián Duran Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine.
Back in Inglewood, Mario said he was grateful to share his story and that, even though he was released, his experience in detention stays with him.
“I still feel frustrated and traumatized,” Mario said, “because my life is no longer the same as it used to be.”
Ernesto Ureño is a Loyola Marymount University journalism major and intern at Capital & Main, a nonprofit publication focused on inequality. It is published here with permission.
Based on reporting by Wave Community Newspapers.
Art
Misty Copeland Shapes Ballet’s Tomorrow
THE POSITIVE COMMUNITY — Misty Copeland will curate the 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival, a two-week event in New York City from August 4-16. This role allows her to influence the future of ballet by showcasing a wide range of dancers, choreographers, and companies. The festival will present both established and contemporary works, blending classical traditions with new artistic expressions.
This summer, Misty Copeland will step into a different kind of spotlight. Instead of taking center stage as a dancer, she will help determine what audiences see onstage as curator of the 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival. Taking place August 4 through August 16 at The Joyce Theater in New York City, the two-week celebration will bring together dancers, choreographers and companies representing a broad spectrum of ballet. The festival gives Copeland an opportunity to share not only her appreciation for ballet’s traditions, but also her vision for its future.
Copeland understands better than most how powerful a ballet stage can be. Her historic career with American Ballet Theatre changed the conversation about representation in one of the world’s most traditional performing arts. When she became the company’s first Black woman to reach the rank of principal dancer, her achievement carried significance far beyond a personal milestone. It gave young dancers of color a new image of what was possible and challenged the industry to reconsider who belonged at the center of ballet.
That history informs the perspective she brings to the festival. Copeland has spent much of her career moving between performance, mentorship, advocacy and storytelling. Her curatorial role allows her to bring those interests together by creating a program that does not treat ballet as a museum piece. Instead, the festival presents dance as an evolving language capable of carrying classical traditions into new cultural and artistic territory.
Audiences will encounter a mixture of established works and contemporary creations during the festival. Classical ballet vocabulary will share space with choreography that pushes dancers toward different physical, emotional and theatrical possibilities. The result is intended to give audiences a broader understanding of the art form while demonstrating that tradition and innovation do not have to be competing forces.
The lineup also provides an opportunity to see dancers from different artistic environments. Performers connected to organizations including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Houston Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions Contemporary Ballet are among those represented in the festival. Each company carries its own history and artistic identity, making their participation part of a larger conversation about the many ways ballet can be performed and interpreted.
The presence of Dance Theatre of Harlem is particularly meaningful within the larger story of Copeland’s career and the evolution of Black representation in ballet. Founded during a period when opportunities for Black dancers were severely limited, the company helped demonstrate that excellence and classical training could flourish in a Black cultural environment. Its legacy continues to influence dancers and audiences, making its connection to a festival curated by Copeland especially resonant.
The program also reaches beyond a single definition of contemporary ballet. Choreographers with different backgrounds and artistic philosophies contribute to an evening that can move from recognizable classical structures to works shaped by modern dance, theater, popular culture and new approaches to movement. That diversity reflects a generation of artists who increasingly see ballet not as a rigid vocabulary but as a foundation from which they can explore.
For New York audiences, the festival offers something that is increasingly valuable: the opportunity to experience outstanding dancers in an intimate setting. The Joyce is known for presenting dance in a theater where audiences can see movement and artistry up close. That environment can make a familiar ballet work feel newly personal while allowing experimental pieces to communicate with unusual immediacy.
Copeland’s role as curator also sends a message about the importance of artistic leadership. The people who select performers and choreography help determine which stories receive attention and which artists receive opportunities. By bringing a range of voices into the festival, Copeland is using that responsibility to broaden the conversation around ballet. Her choices can introduce audiences to artists they may not otherwise encounter while encouraging longtime ballet followers to look at the form from a different perspective.
The 2026 Joyce Ballet Festival ultimately arrives at an important moment for the art form. Ballet is carrying centuries of tradition into an era defined by changing audiences, broader representation and increasingly adventurous choreography. Copeland’s festival reflects that transition. For two weeks in August, The Joyce will become a meeting place for the familiar and the unexpected—a celebration of where ballet came from and a preview of where it may be going. And with Misty Copeland helping shape the conversation, the future of ballet promises to be as expansive as the dancers who are defining it.
Based on reporting by The Positive Community.
Community
As Part of Your Back-to- School Checklist, Vaccinate
POST NEWS GROUP — Vaccines protect your household and also limit the spread of diseases such as measles and polio. The higher the vaccination rate in a community, the greater the protection for everyone – especially the most vulnerable.
Berkeley Public Health recommends families catch up on immunizations before the new school year begins
Parents, check that your children return to school up to date on vaccinations. If necessary, schedule a visit with your family’s doctor or with the City of Berkeley’s Immunization Clinic to catch up.
Vaccines protect your household and also limit the spread of diseases such as measles and polio. The higher the vaccination rate in a community, the greater the protection for everyone – especially the most vulnerable.
Families are encouraged to:
- Check their child’s vaccination records. Ask their health care provider or check California’s Digital Vaccine Record portal.
- Schedule a check-up with your child’s doctor.
If your child doesn’t have a health care provider, you may be able to access free vaccinations through the City of Berkeley’s Immunization Clinic. Make an appointment by calling (510) 981-5350, emailing phmailbox@berkeleyca.gov, or booking online.
See what shots are required for pre-kindergarten or TK-12th grade, and check that your kids have all their recommended vaccines.
FREE VACCINE CLINICS AUG. 4-13
Children without health insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover vaccines can get them for free:
City of Berkeley Immunization Clinic
West Berkeley Family Wellness Center
1900 Sixth St.
Hours: Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Closed 12 p.m.–1 p.m.
Make an appointment between Aug. 4–6 or Aug. 11–13 for back-to-school vaccine clinics:
- Call: (510) 981-5350
- Email: phmailbox@berkeleyca.gov
- Book online
Children 18 years and under are eligible for free City vaccines if they are:
- Medicaid-eligible
- Uninsured
- Underinsured (insurance does not cover vaccines)
- American Indian or Alaska Native
If you are unsure whether you or your child is up to date, the City of Berkeley Vaccination Clinic can help review records and provide recommended vaccines.
FAMILY WELLNESS RESOURCES
Vaccines are just one of the many public health services you can access at the West Berkeley Family Wellness Center. The center is home to the Women, Infants, and Children program, nutrition support, case management services, and a variety of family support services, plus free classes throughout the year.
Vaccinations aren’t just for kids. Throughout adult life, everyone should keep up with their vaccination needs. See recommended vaccines for adults.
Get a healthy start to the school year. Check your child’s vaccinations. Make an appointment with your doctor or get free vaccines at the City clinic.
VACCINE INFORMATION AND FAMILY RESOURCES
- City of Berkeley Immunization Clinic
- TK–12 school vaccine requirements:
- Family support services:
Get trusted information about the City of Berkeley by bookmarking berkeleyca.gov, subscribing to our newsletter, and following us on Bluesky and Instagram.
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Misty Copeland Shapes Ballet’s Tomorrow
As Part of Your Back-to- School Checklist, Vaccinate
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