September 6th marked 5 years since the tragic killing of Botham Jean by former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger — or in Jean’s sister, Allisa Charles-Findley’s re-phrasing — “5 years since I’ve last heard his voice.” And while it’s been said that ‘time heals all wounds’ — for the family and friends of Jean — this is one wound that time, therapy, and even justice, will never heal.
In the wake of the 5-year anniversary, Charles-Findley returned back to Dallas with her mother Allison Jean — specifically to the corner of Cadiz and the now Botham Jean Boulevard, where a mural remains in dedication to Botham, and also marks the beginning of the Boulevard as it trails down what was formerly Lamar Street and past the Dallas Police headquarters.
However, the street name is only one of the many acts of preservation that the family has taken to extend the Botham Jean legacy. Just recently, on September 5th, Charles-Findley released a book (co-written by Jeremiah Cobra), chronicling her pathway to healing amidst the trauma, in the now best-selling title: After Botham: Healing From My Brother’s Murder by a Police Officer. Charles-Findley discloses a never-before-heard accounting of what happened to her brother, her loss of faith, and moreso how she persevered through the aftermath to find life again.
Source: Allison Jean
“[The City of Dallas] didn’t realize the impact that this has had on an entire family,” Allison Jean, Botham Jean’s mother said at the After Botham book signing at Pan African Connection on September 5th. “My mom aged almost overnight…and it has been (what I describe as) a splatter effect on the entire community.”
Dallas city councilmen, community leaders and supporters such as K.C. Foxx, Dr. Trina Pullum, Richard Miles (Miles of Freedom), Antong Lucky (Urban Specialists), Pastor Sammie Berry, and countless others attended the signing, displaying their books, hugging the Jean family, and gathering in solidarity.
“It has been healing in a sense and it has been painful,” Charles-Findley said at the Pan African Connection book launch on September 5th. “These memories [in the book] are hard and they’re painful, and there are some days they make me smile…but, I don’t want to lose the memories. I want to remember Botham how he was — the jovial, carefree and loving person that he was. This book is remembering him for who he was, and not how he was taken from us.”
After Botham: Healing From My Brother’s Murder by a Police Officer (with foreword by civil rights attorney Ben Crump), was published by Chalice Press and released on September 5th. The title is available at Target, on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble retailers.
