The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 10 OCTOBER 2019 | Page 31

THE SANKOFA VOW FORGOTTEN! FORMER STATE TROOPER BRIAN ENCINIA SANDRA BLAND Jean in the chest -- she claimed she feared for her safety -- after mistakenly entering the wrong apartment. Guyger lived on the floor below Jean. Then there is the Fort Worth, Texas Officer Aaron Dean. Two years after he graduated from the Police Academy and 18 months on the job, he shot and killed 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson. She was playing video games with her nephew. A neighbor called the non-emergency police number for a wellness check due to the door being left ajar for several hours. According to NBC News, The response to the wellness check by Fort Worth police was “the equivalent of SWAT” -- involving several officers “prowling” around the property before opening fire without ever identifying themselves as police. Officer, Aaron Dean resigned. The body camera reveals than an officer shined a flashlight through Jefferson’s window and yelled, “Put your hands up and show me your hands,” before firing a single shot at Jefferson seconds later that killed her. Her nephew witnessed the killing. If I can remember the names of the African Americans who have died by the actions of law enforcement, then I will forever remember the infamous names of the officers responsible for their deaths. I will say their names over and over FORMER OFFICER DANIEL PANTALEO ERIC GARNER “Why is it important to remember the names? Why not? It’s the least we can do.” FORMER TRANSIT COP JOHANNES MEHSERLE OSCAR GRANT I am Chillin’, Innovative Extraordinaire for The Soultown International Magazine. I’d like to thank Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Botham Jean and Atatiana Jefferson for having SOUL! , Learn more about the Sankofa Vow at http://www.thesoultown.com/sankofa-vow.html Email me: [email protected] and over again. Why is it important to remember the names? Why not? It’s the least I/we can do. The lives of Grant, Garner, Bland, Jean and Jefferson are just a few from the very long list of deaths. Those responsible for their deaths will never forget their wrongdoings and neither will I. The Sankofa Vow is The Soultown’s promise to our ancestors; to return to the Motherland and retrieve what has been stolen from my ancestry via the trans- Atlantic slave trade. Our forefathers intended to leave seeds for us to return to gather, plant, cultivate and grow. These seeds can be reclaimed and retained by reading, watching, and discussing with our elders and also by traveling to our n a t i v e continent of Africa, the Motherland. Oct. 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com 31