The Death of Quawan Charles
By. Mia Wright
2020 has been eye-opening regarding racism, not only in America but also all around the world. The United States had protests, rallies, and gatherings for the multiple wrongful deaths of African Americans. The Black Lives Matter Movement got a lot of exposure and people started having open conversations about modern-day racism. Although, there are plenty of small cases that still go unseen, like the death of 15-year-old Quawan Charles.
In Louisiana on October 30, Quawan got picked up by a white woman, and her 17-year-old son and his parents reported him missing that night. According to his family, they do not know the people who picked him up and when they told the police, they brushed it off. The police inappropriately assumed he was at the local football game and did not report him missing until two days later. It is very unusual to not take the protocols of an amber alert or simply posting it on the local media. When Quawan was found, he was face down in a sugar cane field in ankle-deep water. His face mutilated and a cut on his head. After the autopsy, the cause of death was ruled as a drowning. Although, his family and community think that there is more to the story.
This story is not very big, which is very surprising considering what has been going on these past couple of months. Rebekah Rodriguez, a junior at Hillgrove High school who is in the theatre department, thinks the story is not big because, "People don’t know how people are going to react to it. And the people are going to see it and not just be like, 'Oh, well. Maybe he deserved it.' Or maybe something happened that I'm not sure of." Another very surprising detail of this story is how the police did not take normal protocol and make it as big of a deal that it was. We wonder as a society... why did they not do what they were supposed to do. Morgan Atkins, a junior at Hillgrove High school thinks, "It’s because no one wants anything like that to happen in their town. No one wants that type of press coverage. No one wants to be the person who could have stopped him from getting killed. So they took forever that it could be a hate crime and they do not want to be in charge of them. They assume the worst of black kids, from anything from drugs to gangs."
The family posted a photo of him on their GoFundMe, to show the world what he looked like when he "drowned". The photo is very explicit and can only be found unblurred on their GoFundMe page. Rebekah said when she saw the photo she explained, "It made me feel really freakin bad for his family. I feel like he suffered in that." As the story grows little by little you wonder how his community may feel after hearing about what has happened. Many are angered and sad and want justice. Mary Troyer, a junior at Chattahoochee High school, thinks, "They’re probably really mad and want justice. The case wasn’t getting the proper treatment it deserved and what’s supposed to happen in these types of cases done. And they’re probably sacred, people thinking, “what if this happened to my kid or friend.”
This case is still very small but is making a huge impact on Quawans family and community. This should be something that everyone is hearing about as the case continues to grow. A potential hate crime that could have lead to this murder of a 15-year-old boy deserves to be heard. Social media is a very resourceful tool that most of us have access to. It is important to do your research and help spread awareness of what is happening in our country.
In Louisiana on October 30, Quawan got picked up by a white woman, and her 17-year-old son and his parents reported him missing that night. According to his family, they do not know the people who picked him up and when they told the police, they brushed it off. The police inappropriately assumed he was at the local football game and did not report him missing until two days later. It is very unusual to not take the protocols of an amber alert or simply posting it on the local media. When Quawan was found, he was face down in a sugar cane field in ankle-deep water. His face mutilated and a cut on his head. After the autopsy, the cause of death was ruled as a drowning. Although, his family and community think that there is more to the story.
This story is not very big, which is very surprising considering what has been going on these past couple of months. Rebekah Rodriguez, a junior at Hillgrove High school who is in the theatre department, thinks the story is not big because, "People don’t know how people are going to react to it. And the people are going to see it and not just be like, 'Oh, well. Maybe he deserved it.' Or maybe something happened that I'm not sure of." Another very surprising detail of this story is how the police did not take normal protocol and make it as big of a deal that it was. We wonder as a society... why did they not do what they were supposed to do. Morgan Atkins, a junior at Hillgrove High school thinks, "It’s because no one wants anything like that to happen in their town. No one wants that type of press coverage. No one wants to be the person who could have stopped him from getting killed. So they took forever that it could be a hate crime and they do not want to be in charge of them. They assume the worst of black kids, from anything from drugs to gangs."
The family posted a photo of him on their GoFundMe, to show the world what he looked like when he "drowned". The photo is very explicit and can only be found unblurred on their GoFundMe page. Rebekah said when she saw the photo she explained, "It made me feel really freakin bad for his family. I feel like he suffered in that." As the story grows little by little you wonder how his community may feel after hearing about what has happened. Many are angered and sad and want justice. Mary Troyer, a junior at Chattahoochee High school, thinks, "They’re probably really mad and want justice. The case wasn’t getting the proper treatment it deserved and what’s supposed to happen in these types of cases done. And they’re probably sacred, people thinking, “what if this happened to my kid or friend.”
This case is still very small but is making a huge impact on Quawans family and community. This should be something that everyone is hearing about as the case continues to grow. A potential hate crime that could have lead to this murder of a 15-year-old boy deserves to be heard. Social media is a very resourceful tool that most of us have access to. It is important to do your research and help spread awareness of what is happening in our country.
