Is He Innocent?
Social Justice Workers protesting on the streets
A FICTITIOUS SHORT STORY
“The latest incident has the black community in turmoil. We have rushed to defend someone who has spent over 20 years in our space. He has been a soldier in the social activity space.” JaRhonda looks at her notes on the cell phone. One drop of sweat is on her eyebrow, she is afraid the rest of the brow will come off if she wipes. She watches it drop on the podium and squints, because of the sunshine. This is not the time to be filled with nerves, bubbly guts, or eyes swelling with tears. Her emotions will not get the best of her during this speech.
“Our community has so much to gain with him in these streets. We have to fight for justice so Abdul X is released.” JaRhonda looks up and the crowd is cheering. She notices a man with a bullhorn staring. He raises it to his lips.
“I hope he is not guilty of fraudulent activity and stealing the money. I worked hard on the reputation of the community center for it to go down in flames because he squandered the money.” Diondre yells above the crowd so he can be heard.
“Man, shut up. You always bring that bullhorn around here to interrupt people during their speeches. Just stop!” Tamara is frustrated, but everyone knows his MO. Diondre is also an attention-seeking adult and her little brother.
JaRhonda and Tamara are colleagues in the Street Justice League. This summer has been trying but the fight for justice is worth it. There have been ups and downs. The biggest disappointment was their leader was arrested and accused of wire fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation of funds. Will he be found guilty?
The trial is set for 10 am on the 11th of July. The courthouse is swarming with media and nosey people. People are everywhere anticipating finding out if he will be charged and convicted. Hero seemed like an excellent role model. He always funded football, had yearly Christmas dinner giveaways, and always passed out money. No one was sure where he got the funding though. Announcements are here and there. There were articles in local newspapers with photos of prominent figures giving donations. There were whispers around town about his methods though. He received millions in funds from various donors.
Did he use the money properly or illegal means to capture their hearts for the donations? Who knows. The business started operating and took off! It was up for the last year. Everyone just knew this would continue without consequence. But then, the warrant after whispers of mishandling funding. He was on a vacation that looked expensive from the public perspective.
Will he get out of this as an innocent man? There are reporters everywhere with cameras and microphones. People are stationed around with signs, some of them hoping to answer questions. Time flies by and people start to storm out of the courtroom. What was the verdict?
Attorney Joseph Banner heads toward the cameras with his legal pad. He starts smiling and reveals the verdict. “Not guilty”. Their leader was on trial for his participation in some sideways events at the local club. He said he was innocent, but there are other charges still pending.
Abdul walks out of the courtroom without handcuffs and hugs his brother.
A woman yells, “You will find out what he’s done soon enough! This is not the end.” A security guard grabs her to escort her out. She does not leave willingly or easily. She leaves while shouting expletives about Abdul. The woman is his bitter baby mama. She filed charges against him for domestic violence but nothing came out of it because she changed her mind.
Abdul stopped smiling and has a look on his face that shows confusion. Next week, he has to return to his hometown to…….
TO BE CONTINUED
If you are enjoying this leave a comment. If you want more leave a comment.
Your sister in Christ,
Trena
Trena M. Turner
Founder of Godffirmation
Author
