Making Them Human...

Say their names….

§ Major Ramirez (a presumably BROWN)

§ Deputy Mitchum (a presumably BLACK)

§ Officer Obele (a presumably BLACK)

§ Officer Guerrero (a presumably BROWN)

§ Sheriff Albanese (a presumably BROWN)

All died on their watch in February 2021.

Each left home to serve their community and never returned, neither one of their death garnered national televised attention and each presumably has/had a MOM who did/would have mourned their death until She died.

Each deserved us to say their name because they were human beings who took a sworn oath to serve and encountered the ultimate sacrifice. I don’t know their records, I don’t know their heart, but I do know that they mattered to at least one person in this big beautiful world and each of them likely deserved another day. Their lives mattered. If not by a wife, husband, child, sister or brother, they metaphorically mattered to me.

Saying their names makes them human and celebrating their race makes it relevant because I am a MOM(S) of BOTH.