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This year has been one of the most turbulent in recent memory. A pandemic coupled with major protests for social justice has led observers to label these events a dual pandemic. This duality is real and is reflected in our own lives, as well as those of our children. As a father of four children, the recent death of Honestie Hodges rocked my world. Hodges, like so many children, died of coronavirus. What is more challenging about her story is her life and death have come to symbolize the awful convergence of social injustice and a global pandemic. Her story brings into bold relief the need to shelter our children. Our children represent the highest manifestation of our dreams and the fullest realization of our possibilities as human beings. Her life and death shines a bright spotlight on this issue.
Long before the racial injustice protests this summer, Honestie Hodges was the victim of racial profiling. In December 2017, she and her family were confronted by armed officers as they emerged from their Grand Rapids, Michigan home. With his gun drawn, an officer ordered Honestie to put her hands on the top of her head. Despite protestationsfrom her mother regarding her age, she was 11 at the time, a second officer handcuffed her. Honestie pleaded for the officer not to handcuff her: “No, No, No,” she cried. She was patted down and placed in a police cruiser. The incident was one of mistaken identity. The officers were looking for Hodges’ 40-year-old aunt Cynthia Manning who was involved in a stabbing.
The officers involved in the incident were not disciplined. Honestie, in a simple question addressed to the Grand Rapids Police Department stated: “If this happened to a white child, of her mother was screaming, She’s 11, would you have handcuffed her and put her in the back of a police car?” The outrage in the community and uproar within the police department led to the adoption of “Honestie’s Policy” in March 2018. This policy called for the least restrictive approach when dealing with youths. Despite the policy change, problems continued related to the handling of Black children by the Grand Rapids Police Department
In late March, the police department faced criticism for holding five teenagers at gunpoint. In April, this incident was compounded by the release of a racial profiling report showing that Black drivers were far more likely to be stopped by police than white drivers. Hispanic drivers also experienced police stops at higher rates as well. In August, several boys were detainedwhile walking home and searched by police. Each was handcuffed and searched for weapons. The mothers of these children criticized the police department for racial profiling.
While she survived racial profiling, the pandemic proved too strong to overcome. On November 9th, Honestie complained of stomach pains. She was taken to the hospital and tested positive for coronavirus. Initially sent home, her condition worsened and she returned to the hospital. Upon arrival, Honestie was admitted to the intensive care unit. After receiving iron and blood transfusions, she was placed on a ventilator. Her condition never improved and Honestie died on November 14th. Honestie’s grandmother Alisa Niemeyer summed up the meaning of her life in the following way: “It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to tell you that that my beautiful, sassy, smart, loving Granddaughter has been has gone home to be with Jesus.” The life and death of Honestie Hodges means will must do all we can to eradicate the social and health related conditions which made her life so short and tragic.