I don’t forgive the man who murdered my cousin DePayne at Mother Emanuel
To insist on a narrative of forgiveness is dehumanizing and violent. It goes against the very nature of lament.
Dear Dep,
I placed hummingbirds on your grave for Mother’s Day. It was also your eldest daughter’s graduation from graduate school, so I wanted to celebrate her, too. Your daughters chose this symbol to represent the beauty of your voice and the eternal bond and love you share with them. You had the most amazing voice, and we loved to hear you sing. But in the aftermath of your murder at Mother Emanuel five years ago, your voice did not matter. It was stamped out instead by news reports, documentaries, politicians, white supremacist speech, and America’s inability to see itself. But we, your family, hear you.
In some cultures, hummingbirds are also known as healers and messengers that connect us with our ancestors. I find comfort in that.
