A ‘Love Balm’ for Mothers Who’ve Watched Too Many Sons Die - COLORLINES

A ‘Love Balm’ for Mothers Who’ve Watched Too Many Sons Die - COLORLINES ~~ “Love Balm” features the testimonies of six mothers. They include Bonnie Johnson, the grandmother of Oscar Grant, who was killed on New Year’s Eve 2009 by a BART transit officer, and Ayanna Davis, whose 25-year-old son Khatari Gant was killed in August 2007. Yasmin Flores, the mother of Daniel Booker, a 27-year-old shot in 2009 as he was walking out of a club, also told her story for the play. As did Anita Wills, whose grandson Kerry Baxter, Jr., was killed while he stood outside an Oakland church last January and Denika Chatman, the mother of 19-year-old Kenneth Harding Jr., who was killed by San Francisco police as he fled a bus stop. Just six mothers, and enough grief to fill lifetimes.

“My son got no medical exam, no report when he died,” are Chatman’s words, brought to life in the play. Her son was sprayed with nine bullets while fleeing police who pulled him aside for skipping a $2 bus fare in 2011. He ran, and shot once while fleeing. “When you’re born, you get one, and when you die you’re supposed to get one, but he never got one, so it’s almost as if he’s still here.