These past few weeks I have been numbed by stories of violence against little black girls. The horrifying murder of 2-year old Tierra Morgan-Glover by her own father. He left her to die in a creek while she was still locked in her car seat.
“Prosecutors had said he killed Tierra to get back at her mother for breaking off their engagement. They said he weighed down her pink car seat with a tire jack to ensure it would sink. Her body was pulled from a creek in Wall Township, about 20 miles from her Lakehurst home, with one tiny black and purple sneaker sticking out of the water.” http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1745059
The case of Relisha Rudd has also chilled me to the bones. The 8-year-old has been missing since early March. Her mother allowed 51-year-old Kahlil Tatum to take custody of her. The mother meet Tatum at the homeless shelter she and her children were staying at. The case has gotten even more confusing, after Tatum was found dead in a park. Where is Relisha? This case has been disturbing on so many levels.
Despite the very suspect behaviors of Rudd’s mother and other family members, For Harriet’s Stephanie Sneed points out how the system also failed Rudd:
“In more affluent communities schools are safety nets for students, a place to turn when their home lives are lacking. However, Relisha, like numerous other students in DC, attended a school whose student body demographic, location east of the Anacostia, and perpetually low test scores made them all but invisible to the DC Public School system. Inexperienced teachers are funneled in and have no more qualifications for teaching than they do for dealing with the socioeconomic factors that prevent many students from prioritizing education over survival. Teachers, who are mandated reporters, often don’t know what signs to look for aside from easily discernible bruises, but it is critical for teachers to be trained on how to identify abuse, including sexual abuse. When a student misses 30+ days, excused or not, this should be a red flag.” http://www.forharriet.com/2014/04/on-relisha-rudd-and-why-we-must-care.html
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I was sad after I read that the body of Dr. Teleka Patrick had been found. The cause of death has not yet been determined. Patrick was struggling with mental health issues, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a victim of foul play. Hopefully more will be said about her case soon:
“The coroner in Porter County, Ind., confirmed Wednesday that it was Teleka Patrick’s body that was pulled Sunday from Lake Charles in northwestern Indiana. The site is about 15 miles east of Gary and near where a car belonging to the 30-year-old doctor was abandoned Dec. 5 along Interstate 94.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/teleka-patrick-found-dead_n_5124701.html?ir=Crime
Rest in Peace Dr. Patrick
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