I am a father before all else, and how I view everything in the world is shaped by this.
So in the days after men were murdered for the uniform they wore, following hard on men being murdered for the skin they wore, it was especially difficult to hear the pain of my daughters asking, “Dad, what can we do?”
Initially, I wasn’t sure I had an answer. And even if I did, would it be heard in the blame blasting from every outlet?
But showing up always seems important. Doing something based in kindness, rather than waiting until complacency sets in again, always seems right. And I have learned over and over and over that when I feel badly for myself, doing something for someone else sets me straight.
Put together… I went to the AVLF office. I joined Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation’s staff and a dozen volunteer attorneys that week and helped people who had no other chance to access the legal system on which we have to depend to address the fear that things are coming apart. It was good, it was emotional, and I felt like I was adding a small piece to the healing, even if maybe it was only my healing.
I also found an answer for my daughters in what I know is true: if you want peace, precious children, work hard for justice.
