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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2015)
Arts & Entertainment Mother of Jordan Davis Reflects upon her Loss By Kam Williams For The Skanner News L ucy McBath is the mother of Jordan Davis, the unarmed teenager gunned down at a Florida gas station for re- fusing to turn down the radio which was playing loud rap music. Although Jordan’s murderer, Michael Dunn, has been con- victed and sentenced to life in prison for the crime, Lucy has remained a very vocal advocate on behalf of all victims of such vi- olence. Here, she reminisces about Jordan while discussing 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets, a doc- umentary chronicling the trial of her son’s killer. She also discusses her commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement and to pressuring the criminal justice system to hold all violators of black civil rights ac- countable. people who never spent much time thinking about the issues of racism and bi- ases and guns and violence. They see how we’re all re- lated dynamically to my sto- ry in some way, because it’s everybody’s story. KW: What interested you in participating in this doc- umentary? LM: I’m a product of the Lucy McBath in ‘3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets’ Civil Rights Era. My father was a Civil Rights leader. KW: She’s wondering whether you filed So, I understood the power and authenticity of being able to move people for a cause. I a civil lawsuit against your son’s killer, Mi- felt that this would be one of the most effec- chael Dunn. LM: Yes, we did. tive ways to reach the largest possible audi- ence and to prick their conscience and to get KW: How would you describe Jordan in them to open their homes and communities 25 words or less? LM: Fun-loving, intuitive, spiritual and humorous... [Chuckles] He was always playing jokes, yet he was also really con- cerned about others, especially people who had less than he had, and people who who didn’t have the opportunities that he had. to discussions about gun violence and race. KW: What was it like to not only lose This gives us a chance to reach more people than we’d ever be able to just in our own your son, but to have to grieve in the na- tional spotlight, and at a time you were also communities. battling breast cancer? LM: It was extremely, extremely difficult. KW: Editor Jaymie Cain notes that you went to grammar school in her hometown I had to deal with my son being murdered as well as my health, and have it all played out of Joliet, Illinois. LM: Yes, that’s where I was born and in the media. But I understood the inherent raised. And I still have cousins who reside importance of what we were doing, and that I would have to put aside all of my ills and there. my “isms” because what God was doing was much greater than Jordan, and that Jordan’s life was serving as a catalyst for change. So I had to put aside what was uncomfortable for me to do what I needed to do. My father was a Civil Rights leader. So, I understood the power and authenticity of being able to move people for a cause Kam Williams: Hi Lucy, thanks for the interview. Lucy McBath: Thank you, Kam. I’m glad we’re able to connect. KW: 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets was a very powerful film. What did you think of it? LM: I’m extremely pleased because it’s truthful and it does the very thing we want- ed, which is [to] impact people. It’s been very, very well received, particularly among KW: Have you bonded with any of the other parents of other unarmed young blacks killed by whites in recent years? LM: Absolutely! I’m good friends with Sybrina Fulton [Trayvon Martin’s mother]. Just recently, I spent some time with Michael Brown’s mother [Leslie McSpadden]. I’ve met Eric Garner’s mother [Gwen Carr] and Tamir Rice’s mother [Samaria Rice], too. Every year in Miami, Sybrina hosts what she calls “The Circle of Mothers.” Along the way, I’ve had a chance to meet quite a few other mothers who are grieving over the murders of their children, many of whose cases never garnered national attention. KW: Do you see a psychological differ- ence in yourself from them, since you’re the only mother whose son’s killer was convict- ed of murder? LM: In that regard, I’m kind of stuck be- tween a rock and a hard place. Just because we’ve received justice, doesn’t mean that we don’t care about everyone who hasn’t. It actually makes us even more passionate because we know that justice can be done. We wanted to set a precedent in the justice system to give a sense of hope to our people. We have to care about what’s happening in our community. We have to care about the other mothers and fathers who have never received justice for their loved ones. So, we feel very responsible to continue to stand and fight the system with our heads high for the rest of our lives, if necessary, until we create the changes necessary for everyone to receive justice. KW: Is there one widespread misconcep- tion about Jordan that you’d like to correct for the record? LM: Yeah, Jordan was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Because it happened in Florida, everybody thinks Jordan was from there. But he has a whole history in Georgia. His church friends... his home school group... the church school group... The whole essence of who Jordan is, is be- cause of Atlanta. That’s what I want people to know. See MCBATH on page 3 June 17, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 13
