Nolan Wells Should Be Starting School
Nolan Wells should be starting school this year.
He should be beaming with hope and possibility. He should be greeting friends in hallways and classrooms. He should be thinking about what comes next, discovering more about himself, making plans, changing plans, laughing, learning, dreaming, and becoming.
He is not.
And that is a great tragedy and a loss for us all.
Nolan Wells was 18 years old when he went missing during a July 4 trip to Horn Island, Mississippi, with friends. His body was found two days later. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, and his family continues to seek answers and accountability.
The death of a young person is one tragedy.
The unanswered questions, the uncertainty, and the absence of a clear path toward justice can feel like another.
For young people, especially Black young people, stories like Nolan’s can reinforce a terrifying message: that the world is not safe for you. That your life can be taken or lost and there may be no answers. That you can disappear and the world may simply move on.
Communities of faith must speak against that message.
We must tell our Black youth:
You are not alone.
Your life is precious.
Your joy is sacred.
Your safety matters.
We will protect you.
We will work to make our neighborhoods, our cities, and our world safer and more pleasant places for you to live, play, discover, dream, and thrive.
And we will keep watch over you.
We will not look away.
This Week’s Call to Action: Make Room
Gather the young people in your community and make space for them to reflect together.
Create a space where they can speak honestly about what they have heard, what they are feeling, and what Nolan’s story may be causing them to think about their own lives, their safety, their joy, and their future.
Don’t begin by telling them what they should think or feel. Listen.
Make room for their questions. Make room for their anger, fear, confusion, hope, and imagination. Make room for them to tell you what they need from the adults and communities around them.
Use these questions to guide the conversation:
What have you heard about Nolan Wells and his death?
How does Nolan’s story make you feel about Black life, Black safety, and Black joy?
What ideas do you find yourself internalizing?
In what ways are those ideas affirmed, challenged, or rejected by the highest values of our faith? What do you feel called to do?
How can this community support you in answering what you feel called to do?
And when they tell you, listen closely.
A Prayer for Safety
God, hasten the day when we do not have to gather to mourn the death and disappearance of Black youth.
God, hasten the day when Black lives are protected and not discarded.
God, hasten the day when Black boys and girls can frolic free of fear and trepidation.
God, hasten the day when our young people can leave home, and their families do not have to wonder whether they will return safely.
God, hasten the day when unanswered questions are met with urgency, when grieving families are met with compassion, and when justice is pursued without hesitation.
Until that day, make us watchful.
Make us courageous.
Make us protectors of Black life and guardians of Black joy.
Give our young people the freedom to laugh loudly, dream extravagantly, love deeply, explore freely, and become fully who you created them to be.
And give us the courage to build a world worthy of them.
God, hasten the day when Black lives matter, not only in our words.
May that day come quickly.
And may we have the courage to help bring it forth.
Ashe.
Keron Blair
Community Impact and Special Projects Consultant
And the staff of Community Renewal Society