I’m on the phone with a man who is living my worst nightmare. What Ron Davis does, every day, in honor of his son Jordan Davis, is beautiful, painful, and—sadly—necessary. “Um… I’m just going to dive in,” I say nervously. He laughs kindly. How do you interview a man about his murdered son?
On November 23, 2012, while sitting in a parked car with three friends, 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot and killed by 45-year-old Michael Dunn following a verbal dispute over loud music. The story of a white man who became so angry at the impertinence of four black teens that he fired 10 bullets into their SUV came to horrify the nation. Black parents clutched their children tightly as they watched Jordan’s parents, Ron Davis and Lucia McBath, face a loss both unimaginable and horribly familiar. The whole tragedy served to emphasize the constantly present threat of losing our black children to a world that seems out to get them…
3½ Minutes, 10 Bullets plays Tues June 2, 7 pm at SIFF Cinema Egyptian and Wed June 3, 6 pm at Kirkland Performance Center. Ron Davis is scheduled to attend.