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From: Michael Greenfield
Date: 05 Nov 2000
Time: 14:15:59
Remote Name: 63.22.201.104
Dear Wendy community-
I remembered that a St.Mark's graduate's mother had started a support group to deal with random violence after her son was killed in South Dallas. I talked to someone at Mother's Against Teen Violence last Thursday and wanted to share this information with everyone to help us all cope with Wendy's loss.
She is sending me some information and I got put on their mailing list for monthly support group meetings. The website is: http://www.matvinc.org
Here is a little more information about the organization that I took from the website.
The MATV Story On June 19, 1993, the residents of Dallas, Texas were shocked and saddened when Charles Christopher Lewis (Chris), 19, and his friend, Kendrick Demon Lott, 18, were robbed, beaten and murdered. Chris had reluctantly agreed to drop his two friends off at a South Dallas club. When he drove his car into the parking lot of this club, a friend's car that they expected to see was noticeably absent. Not wanting to be stranded, Chris' friends decided they would not visit the club after all and asked Chris to drop them off at home. At that point Chris and his friends were accosted by two delinquent teens that they didn't know, who were armed with handguns and under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs. The offenders forced Chris and his friends at gunpoint into Chris' car and drove them to a secluded area where Chris and Kendrick were shot with a 9mm handgun. The third teen managed to escape although he was severely traumatized, badly beaten, and required oral surgery. The autopsies showed that neither Chris nor Kendrick had any foreign substances in their bodies. Chris was a 1992 graduate of Dallas' St. Mark's School of Texas, where he was the vice-president of the Upper School Orchestra, played varsity football, ran track, and was a gifted writer and poet. He was home from his first year at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
MOTHERS AGAINST TEEN VIOLENCE, Inc. was born from this tragedy. Chris' mother, Joyce Strickland, is co-founder and has served as Executive Director since MATV's inception. During its first seven years, MATV was a community-based organization, offering both violence prevention and victim services. In October 2000 MATV launched a national organization, accepting applications for MATV charters and Teens Against Teen Violence. In this effort the organization strengthens its resolve that Chris, Kendrick, and thousands of America's young victims of gun violence, have not lost their lives in vain!
Love and hugs to all, Michael