Justice For Families With Murdered Children
By Dianne Anderson
Justice for families with murdered children is not exactly a top talking point for officials, but local artists are drawing attention to the kind of pain that most people want to ignore, or at least avoid.
Their recent mural project unveiled last weekend honors and remembers the young victims of murder in Long Beach.
Lawanda Hawkins talked about supporting families through trauma, and how their program wants to show that even though there is tremendous hurt, there is no room for retaliation or hate.
They remain resilient.
Typically, she said society doesn’t have a problem hosting memorials and services to support lives lost through HIV, human trafficking, and other catastrophes, while families who have lost children to murder must struggle alone.
“We’re still standing and we need our kids to understand that we didn’t pick up a weapon. We could have done that, but we believe there can be changes through art. Art is therapy,” said Hawkins, founder of Justice for Murdered Children.
Last Sunday, the community came out for The Art Mural Block Party for resources, services, food, live music and entertainment, and also a voice for families impacted by tragedy. The outreach is in partnership with One Long Beach and Centro CHA.
For all the good of the program, she said it would be a great help if those in positions of power could get on board, including policymakers, to assist with extra funding and resources for families in need.
It’s been almost three decades since her 19-year-old son Reginald was killed, and his murderer has not been found. Since then, she has tirelessly served on boards of many agencies, holding community vigils, and partnering with state and local efforts, police, or whoever can help bring justice to families in trauma.
This past event was the third of its kind in recent weeks. They also spotlighted gun violence in an event that ended at Dr. MLK Park with youth from Watts, Compton and Long Beach. Before that, they held a healing on the beach with different types of music, Hawaiian and Jamaican.
“We took the families to the oceans, it was a healing ceremony and we did some sound baths. We’ve been doing a lot,” said Hawkins, whose programming is in partnership with Centro Cha and ONE Long Beach.
Artists coming together in the community helps open dialogue and bring more attention to artistic ways of stopping violence. She believes that hurt people hurt other people, and that’s the place to start.
“If you give people another opportunity to deal with their hurt and anger, the hurt can be redirected. You are preventing them from going out to hurt someone else,” she said.
Through art, social impact is also visual, and even hearing some lyrics shows the community how to express something that is not easily expressed.
“I remember James Brown during the civil rights movement saying things that people can understand, that there’s a problem here and he showed them through the arts. Everyone loves music. It crossed all barriers. It made a difference,” she said.
Policy change is her other social impact area. Hawkins was one of three who signed Marsy’s Law for Victim Rights in the state of California. Her volunteerism is also growing, attracting professionals from all walks of life, and everyday people who want to get involved to diffuse some of the rage.
“I have families of murder victims come back. Some have never been affected, some are in the medical fields, and law enforcement, saying let us volunteer,” she said. “I have a former D.A., saying let us look at some of these cases, let me help you guys.”
Still, she stressed that it is sad to think that every crime victim can access assistance, except for murder victims, who are the ones that are dead victims. Their families usually deal with the aftermath alone. It’s just another victimization.
She said the current system is grossly twisted.
“Only when it’s murder is the state against the perpetrator, so the system is not set up to offer anything to family or community,” she said. “Now they’re trying to say murderers are victims [because] they are considered a survivor.”
The state offers assistance in burials, but families need so much more.
“We need other assistance. If your loved one was killed by law enforcement, the state is sued you’re going to get a payout, but if your kid is killed by someone on the street, you’re doomed,” she said.
At her events, they also pass out information on resources, including pamphlets regarding legal assistance programs. They also offer pro bono with attorneys. Coming up, October 14, they will host their regular support group meeting at 6:30 p.m., and are inviting the community to visit their website for more information.
“If you need to talk to another mother right now, we can get them on the phone in 5-10 minutes to talk with you to know that you’re not alone,” she said.
For more information, see
To learn more about LaWanda Hawkins’s story, see
https://ovc.ojp.gov/gallery/award-recipients/2015/lawanda-hawkins
