Adrianne Cobb was 18. She died Saturday night. She was shot while she was at a party for teens. The crowd was predominantly made up of kids because it was a "No ID required" party. There was no alcohol. The main entertainment was music and dancing. I know this because one of the young men that my husband I have tutored for years was standing next to Adrianne when she was shot. Robert is living with us right now and I've spent the last week watching him process Adrianne's death in the ways that make sense to him. When I went to bed last night, he was sitting at the computer trying to make a slide show with pictures of her. He's on MySpace a lot, seeing what people are saying about the tragedy, looking at pictures of her - one of them together in a classroom. I didn't know Adrianne. My only memory of her was at Senior Day a few weeks ago, when she received a few awards from the B.T.W. High School staff. A few days later, Adrianne graduated. So that's all I know. But apparently, she was pretty unforgettable. Robert says she was hilarious - not just a class clown, but a school clown - making everyone laugh, including the principal. But she was also smart, and probably would have gone on to college.
Adrianne spent a lot of time at Streets Ministries, and I know everyone there is mourning her loss. She was also a relative of a recent Jobs for Life graduate, and Advance wanted to remember her as well. Because the truth is that not enough people are noticing this tragedy. As far as I could tell, nothing about her death, or the crime surrounding it, appeared in the Commercial Appeal - other than her obituary. I did see one brief mention that was included on a local news show, but it was wrapped up with a list of things that happened last weekend. There was no outrage over Adrianne's death.
There should be outrage. There should be a response. I don't know what that response should be...maybe just more people intentionally using their time to pour the love of Christ into the lives of their neighbors. Because we could use some more love down here.
Kate Lareau
kate@advancememphis.org
Posts
