Teach Our Children...

Many people across the country are becoming aware of the killing of Samuel DuBose by a University of Cincinnati police officer during an off-campus traffic stop over a missing front license plate. That officer was charged yesterday with murder after a grand jury investigated the evidence, including the officer's own body camera. 

Just a few days before this indictment about 300 people turned out for a rally and march demanding justice for Sam Dubose and the release of the body cam footage. You can view my entire gallery of that march HERE. It was a powerful and emotionally charged day that was only barely dampened by a torrential downpour that didn't seem to faze most of the ardent protestors one bit. 

One of the many things that struck me during that day were the children. It is not uncommon to see children at demonstrations, but there was something about the intensity and awareness of the little ones at this march that particularly grabbed me. They seemed much more like true participants than merely hapless kids dragged along unwillingly by their parents. This was, of course, more true of the older ones, but even the toddlers held a composure that seemed beyond their years. There was in general a sense of engagement and an understanding that they were indeed witnessing important affairs and what seemed to me to be a sincere desire to comprehend them. This was an educational moment. I could not help but hear the Graham Nash song Teach Your Children playing continuously in my head as i made my shots.

(Please click on images for an enlarged view)

  

©David Sorcher 2015

Isabella Carter, 2, holds up a sign to passing cars as her mother Jessica Carter stands nearby. 

©David Sorcher 2015

Two young boys watch intently as a woman lays a flower on the shrine created at the spot in the Mt. Auburn neighborhood where Samuel DuBose was killed. Protesters stood, spoke and chanted in the heavy ran for nearly an hour before marching back to the UC Campus.

©David Sorcher 2015

A young man listens intently as relatives and friends of Samuel DuBose speak about his life and death on the spot where he was killed. 

©David Sorcher 2015

Samuel DuBose, Jr. speaks to the crowd about his father on the corner where he died. 

©David Sorcher 2015

A young girl is carried as the marchers walk along Vine Street in the rain. 

©David Sorcher 2015

Abijah Reid (right), fiancée and mother of three of DuBose's children, along with some of his family, lead the march back to the UC Campus. DuBose left twelve children behind in all. 

This is a terribly, sad time for us all here in Cincinnati, especially so for the friends and relatives of Samuel DuBose. What we teach our children in this moment can become the hope for a better, brighter future and empower them with a sense of strength, peace and justice. We must teach our children well folks. They are the promise of all things to come...