Half-Mast Summer


The city of Baton Rouge had a terrible summer in 2016. On July 5, police officers shot and killed Alton Sterling in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Mart, sparking protests. On July 17, Gavin Long ambushed police officers and deputies, shooting six (three of them fatally) near a BQuik convenience store. Four weeks later, a 1,000-year storm caused widespread flooding throughout the Baton Rouge metro area, killing 13 people and ruining tens of thousands of homes.
The big American flags at car dealerships along Airline Highway flew at half mast for a total of 20 days that summer: June 12-16 in honor of the victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, July 8-12 in honor of the victims of the ambush of police in Dallas, July 15-19 in honor of the victims of the terrorist attack in Nice, and July 18-22 in honor of the victims of the ambush of police in Baton Rouge. They did not fly at half mast for Alton Sterling or those who died in the flood.
I'm honored that the editors of Slag Glass City have published my graphic narrative about my family's experience of the summer of 2016.

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