Tribute to Bobby Tillman...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/09/georgia.teen.beaten/index.html?hpt=T1

When I first heard the story of Bobby Tillman, the young boy who was brutally killed over the weekend in Atlanta, GA, my heart went out to him and his family. I couldn’t imagine how difficult the whole situation had to have been for them. I read article after article and studied his pictures, wondering what his future could have been had not his life been cut so short, all the while thinking: “This kid looks familiar to me.”

My heartbreak turned to anger as I then focused my attention on the other kids involved in the story. Where is this type of ignorance coming from? What are these kids witnessing in their own homes? Listening to on their Ipods? Being influenced to do by their peers? And, how can I protect MY kids from it?

Cut to 11:55am today. I called my husband during my lunch break, and he tells me to brace myself for some bad news.

“We KNOW Bobby,” he says.

“WHAT?!? Don’t tell me that,” I say.

A flood of devastation washes over me as I think back to the only Bobby I know. Quickly, I realize that the Bobby Tillman I had been reading about for the last couple of days had been my neighbor for two years in California; before his mother moved him and his sister to Atlanta, GA for a fresh start.

• Atlanta Bobby Tillman is THE SAME little Bobby my firstborn (Taya-Morgan) had a crush on, would talk about nonstop and would watch shoot hoops from our apartment patio.


• Atlanta Bobby Tillman is THE SAME little Bobby that would help me carry my groceries up 2 flights of stairs when I was pregnant (with Kenyah) and he saw me struggling.


• Atlanta Bobby Tillman is THE SAME little Bobby that would offer to take our trash down to the dumpster for us.

I was absolutely devastated, and I'm sure I WILL BE devastated for some time to come. Bobby was a sweet kid, and after they moved, my husband and I would often wonder how him and his family were doing out in Atlanta. Well, I guess now we know.

We shed tears for Bobby and his family today, crying with others around the nation. And, I know that Bobby will be included in our nightly family prayer for some time to come.

Lord, please stop these senseless killings.

Lord, please be with Bobby and his family.

We love you Bobby. RIP.

Todd, Shenita, Taya-Morgan and Kenyah Moore