Taylor Bembery
Associate Editor
The community, students, faculty, staff, and Latasha Norman’s family and friends all gathered on the chilly morning of Nov. 8 to commemorate Norman’s life and to bring awareness to domestic violence prevention during the 7th Annual Latasha Norman 5K Run/Walk.
Before the run/walk began, a balloon release of purple balloons was held in front of the Jackson State University Student Center. Purple is the official color of domestic violence awareness month. This year, the color of the shirts were lavender with a neon yellow illustration of Latasha on the front
At 8:00 a.m., runners and walkers lined up at the start line. Even though the run/walk is for a worthy cause, it is still competitive. Shane James, from Tasmania, Australia, is known for his documentary ‘Run to Live’. James has Stiff Persons Syndrome (SPS), which is a rare neurological illness that stiffens muscles and bones. The illness affects one in a million people. He is the only person diagnosed with SPS who controls his condition by running. On average he runs 250 miles per week.
This was James’ first time participating in the Latasha Norman 5K Run/Walk.
“It was just pure luck. I was coming out for a morning jog and I saw the registration tables and I asked if I could join in. Everyone was really welcoming and said come race. I don’t know who the young lady was but I’ve seen the t-shirts. I think it’s a fantastic idea to come together to stop domestic violence and sexual assault,” said James.
When the run/walk was finished, there was a time of fellowship. Participants were provided with healthy refreshments, music, and activities. All raffle, door prizes and run/walk awards were announced by Phillip A. Cockrell, the Associate Vice President/ Dean of Student Affairs at JSU.
There were also informational booths provided by the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence (MCADV) and the Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center. MCADV allowed people to ’Take the Pledge’ against domestic violence.
Lindsey Shaw, a junior sociology major from Biloxi, Miss., participated as a team member of the Fannie Lou Hamer Pre-Law Society. She said the run/walk gave her the opportunity to reflect on her own experience with domestic violence.
“It gave me time to meditate on how important of an issue domestic violence is and it made me think back on my testimony. I wasin a domestic violence relationship in the past and a lot of people in our generation don’t realize that domestic violence is real and it can happen to them. Sometimes it’s hard for people to take an issue seriously if they never had an encounter or know anyone personally who has. I could have been Latasha Norman. I’m extremely blessed to have survived my situation mentally, spiritually and physically but others haven’t and for those others we need to raise the awareness of domestic violence to prevent it,” said Shaw.
Norman may not be here physically but she lives through her mother and stepfather, Danny and Patricia Bolden. Danny Bolden is appreciative of the gratitude that JSU has displayed with keeping his daughter’s memory alive by promoting the annual 5k run/walk. He shared what the seventh year means to him and his family.
“It’s a blessing because seven to me represents completion and were so grateful that Jackson State is still carrying this on. We’re grateful that we did it this seventh year. Seven means a lot to us, we wrapped up the trial this year,” he said.
Bolden has continued to crusade for his daughter and domestic violence awareness. He plans to launch a new campaign to bring more attention to the cause.
“I have an image of me; I was telling the story about what happened to Latasha somewhere. I was telling it with all my true emotions and I was crying. It’s a picture, eventually I’m going to give it to someone and make it the face of domestic violence on the men’s part. The title of it is: Remember before you hit a woman, her father loved her first,” said Bolden.
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