![]() The Hardee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Markgraff, who lived in Zolfo Springs, Florida, died after Hurricane Ian flooded parts of the state last week. “He was very protective and loving of all his friends and family.” ![]() Markgraff, 35, had a way of picking up anyone who was feeling down, Rudolph said. was the “greatest brother anyone could ask for,” said his sister, April Rudolph. Schuline, 51, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help Wojciechowski, who also lost her home in the storm.Ĭraig Markgraff Jr. He visited his home state in May to celebrate his granddaughters’ graduations from high school and college, Schuline said. Pacyna hailed from the Chicago area and was a diehard fan of the Cubs, Blackhawks and Bears. “This ain’t letting up yet, if it gets a little higher, we may have to go on the roof,” he said in the video. on September 28, just two hours before landfall, read, “OK,WE’RE TERRIFIED !!”Įarlier, he’d posted a video of his elaborate home bar floating away. Schuline said she’d been following her dad’s updates on Facebook during the storm and grew concerned when he stopped posting. “She’s having … a hard time with understanding what’s all going on and coming to grips with things.” They were together for 30 years, so losing somebody like that and being there when it happened is really hard on her,” Schuline said. Wojciechowski and the couple’s dog Lulu survived and are safe, she said. The couple was trying to get to shelter, she said. All I can do is offer what little love and light I have to Darnella, knowing that it won’t be enough to protect this girl from the continued cruelty against her and the Black community.“I understand they were trying to leave the house as it was collapsing and he didn’t make it out of there,” Schuline said. My heart hurts in preparation for my city being in the spotlight again just like it was last summer. My heart hurts for Darnella and her family. I just know that I’m tired of being in this cycle. Where do we go from here? I honestly don’t know. ![]() It was an attempt to get folks to realize that recognition doesn’t protect you. This is why there were comments going around, when Darnella won that Pulitzer, saying to protect her and those around her. Meanwhile, those in my family who are younger drive around knowing that all it takes is one cop to make them a trending hashtag for the most heartbreaking reasons. My mother has her own George Floyd stories, and even Leneal Lamont Frazier stories where someone who is connected to the person who took a stand against police brutality “just so happens” to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It weighs heavily on me because it’s become a generational thing. That narrative becomes the thing allies champion without realizing the cruel reality of us knowing that speaking out could mean nothing because, well, someone else was just killed at the hands of the police-after all the protests, the trial, and the Pulitzer Prize, Darnella Frazier still lost her uncle because of the police. The Darnella Fraziers have to put their childhoods on hold in favor of seeking justice and, in a way, they’re expected to do this, because this is how everyone else, hopefully, begins to understand something as basic as “don’t kill us.” This leads to hostility from those who paint us as evildoers trying to take down the police and it leads to that “you’re so strong” narrative that applauds us for having to break ourselves apart to repeat the words that we’ve been saying for centuries: let us live. ![]() It’s an exhausting, double-edged sword of knowing that we have to actually convince the masses that our lives matter. Hearing people call a child a hero because she filmed a murder at the hands of those who are supposed to “protect and serve” is gut-wrenching because it’s the last thing you want a Black teenage girl to experience. Trust me when I say that we’d much rather not need an entire movement that centers on us making people realize that, hey, maybe don’t be racist, and maybe don’t be racist to the point that we’re murdered on film. Even so, as seen in Darnella Frazier’s case, we’re praised for our efforts when, really, we wish we didn’t have to make them at all.
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