Obviously, Mitchell's death is tragic. Kevin Skrabinshki wrote a piece yesterday saying right now, people need to mourn his death and not use the event as some social commentary on other issues. But, I couldn't help but think while reading this from Joel Erickson how the way friends, and especially his family, are reacting to his death, is a great example of how the marches and so called protests going on lately should be handled. And the last quote in this article speaks volumes.
OPELIKA, Alabama - They came by the hundreds, carrying candles of all shapes, sizes and colors, candles brought from their homes or borrowed from others or purchased on the way to the fountain in front of the Lee County Courthouse.
Family, friends, coaches and teammates of Jakell Mitchell, who was shot and killed Sunday in Auburn, gathered in the middle of a throng of supporters, some wearing Auburn gear, some wearing the colors of Opelika High.
What began as an impromptu candlelight vigil organized by a few of Mitchell's former classmates at Opelika High transformed into an event that became part vigil, part church sermon and part rally to end the violence that claimed Mitchell's life.
"Overwhelmed," his father, Mario Mitchell, said of the crowd. "But it helps. Absolutely, 100 percent helped. Without these prayers, and to see this kind of love that boy has been able to spread in a matter of two or three years, overwhelmed. Past everything I would've believed."
The idea for the vigil came from Adrianna Tapscott, a friend who transferred in to Opelika High as a senior and built a friendship with Mitchell, a young man she remembered as a people person despite his quiet nature.
Tapscott simply posted the idea on Facebook. From there, news of the vigil took off, trumpeted by more of Mitchell's friends, including Karlous Cox, who went to first grade with Mitchell, played Little League baseball with him and ultimately stepped in Mitchell's place when the tight end tore his ACL before his senior season.
"He was my first friend when I moved to Opelika," Cox said. "I've known him for a while. Very humble. ... Jakell was a person a lot people knew, a lot of people respect him."
News of Mitchell's death - the Auburn tight end was shot and killed after an argument outside a party at the Tiger Lodge apartment complex in Auburn - sent shockwaves through a community that has been through too many of these tragedies.
According to Cox, he and Mitchell were close friends with Alonzo Robertson, who was murdered on vacation in Washington, D.C., with his grandmother in 2008. One of Mitchell's best friends, Martin Frazier, was found stabbed to death two years ago in Beauregard.
That's how Frankie Bell, a teacher in Lafayette, who is an outspoken advocate against youth violence in the area and spoke at Monday night's vigil, met Mitchell. He was holding a cookout in honor of Frazier.
"He said he wanted to make sure that young people understand they do make a difference," Bell said. "I was impressed with him."
Bell and Tapscott, whose brother was killed in Decatur in 2009, both made impassioned pleas to the crowd to get involved with young people and to help stop the tide of violence among young people.
Mitchell's father, Mario, grew up among that kind of violence in Opelika before landing a football scholarship to Troy. When he took the microphone on Monday night, he acknowledged that he's been to a few candlelight vigils before.
When Mitchell left to begin college, his father told him to stick close to Auburn's campus, within the "bubble" created by East University Drive, which loops around the city of Auburn.
"That was my fear, because this is home," Mario said. "All those students down there need to stay in that bubble, and that bubble is East University. You guys (reporters) do not report outside of East University, because it's a bubble, and there's no guns. The trouble comes outside the bubble, where anybody else can invite themselves in."
The suspect in Mitchell's murder, like Desmonte Leonard, who was convicted of killing three people at the same student apartment complex in June of 2012, came from outside the bubble.
A 22-year-old from Camp Hill, Markale Hart, was arrested and charged with Mitchell's murder.
Now, in the midst of his grief, Mario Mitchell has already begun trying to prevent more tragedies. He spoke to Opelika High's football team on Monday morning, teaching them the same message he taught his son, with an addendum.
"If somebody does infiltrate the bubble, be smart enough to walk away," Mario Mitchell said. "I lost my best friend. ... The fighting, the fussing, you've got to be able to walk away."
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