MEMORIAL FLAG-RAISING:
Ceremony remembers Shelby County victims of child abuse.
In the past year, five Shelby County children lost their lives violently and allegedly at the hands of a caregiver.
A ceremony Wednesday honored Jermyle Campbell, 2; Deandre Davis, 2; Josiah Patterson, 3; Ryleigh Scarborough, 4 months; and Destine King, 6. In each of their cases, a parent or caregiver has been charged with homicide.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell were in attendance as a red and teal flag was raised outside City Hall Wednesday afternoon for victims of child abuse or neglect alongside a crowd of childwelfare advocates and concerned citizens.
The Memphis Child Advocacy Center raises the Children’s Memorial Flag every April during Child Abuse Prevention Month. The flag will continue to fly outside City Hall for the rest of the month.
“We as a community know of no pain that loved ones can experience that is deeper than that of having to bury a child, nor do we know of any trauma more unthinkable than the cruel and violent death of a child at the hands of someone they knew or even trusted,”
said Katherine Lawson, executive director of Victims to Victory, an advocacy organization that works with families of homicide victims.
“Every one of these little children deserved better,” said Virginia Stallworth, executive director of Memphis Child Advocacy Center. “They were worthy of a childhood filled with wonder. They were meant to play and explore, to discover their unique gifts and to grow into their potential.”
Lawson encou raged the crowd to stand up for children “not just when we raise the Children’s Me- morial Flag, but whenever we see signs of maltreatment.”
The Memphis Police Department Peacemakers band sang “Amazing Grace” and “Hero” in honor of the deceased. Students from Maxine Smith STEAM Academy released five white doves into the air for each of the victims.
“... As a father of two young children I feel a personal connection here, and I cannot rationally explain to my children why we have to do this,” Strickland said. “To me, we’re here for two reasons in equal parts: to remember those five precious lives that we lost, and to be inspired to prevent any more deaths at our hands.”