BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — According to Project Cold Case, there are approximately 10,042 unsolved homicide cases in Louisiana since the 1980s. Unfortunately, since the pandemic, those numbers are continuing to rise.
The Summer of Hope program, which is hosted by the EBR Mayor-President’s Office, held a discussion panel and screening of the film “Uncommon Allies.” A documentary from 2018 about a Kansas City mother named Rosilyn Temple who turned her pain of losing a son to violence into a movement to heal her community.
Temple’s son, Antonio Thompson, known as “Pee-Wee” was murdered in his own apartment in Kansas City, Missouri back in 2011.
“Highlight the work that Ms. Rosilyn is doing in Kansas City but connect the thread,” said Director of Operations for Safe, Local, Healthy Jazzika Matthews.
By having this screening, they aimed to have an open conversation about how locals and law enforcement can together build a strong community.
Sadly, Rosilyn Temple could not attend the screening due to flight delays.
Those that spoke on the discussion panel included Major Kari Thompson of Kansas City Police Department, Liz Robinson, Founder of C.H.A.N.G.E, Lt. James Jefferson of National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Kerri Daniel of Pain to Purpose Ministries, and Linda Smith of the Great Exchange.
“We are seeing an increase in violence across our nation,” said Kansas City Police Department Major Kari Thompson.
Major Thomspon was in the documentary herself. She says meeting the families is hard, saying, “Unfortunately, I have the fortunateness of meeting these families on the worst days of their lives.”
She works with Temple and her own group of mothers to help solve these cold cases in Kansas City.
A local mother here in Baton Rouge, Elizabeth Robinson, lost her son, Louis Robinson Jr. A local rapper, who was murdered off Cadillac Street back in 2018. After the murder of her son, she became the founder of C.H.A.N.G.E, a group that works with people in areas who lost their children to violence and advocates against it.
Robinson realizes how she and Temple are alike. They are both on the same mission to solve the unsolved cases of their children being murdered.
“No mother should have to go through this, no mother should have to go through the pain, we share every day,” said Robin.
The Summer of Hope in Baton Rouge is dedicated to providing programs this summer to help kids stay off the streets. The next Summer of Hope event is Police versus State Champions on Thursday, June 30 at 6:30 p.m.
The Louisiana state champion basketball teams Scotlandville Magnet and Southern Lab will be playing local law enforcement officers. The basketball game is an effort to foster closer relations between law enforcement and the community.
The full trailer for “Uncommon Allies” can be found here. It can also be streamed on Hulu.
To find out more about Summer Hope Events, click here.