James Garrett
Age 18
Chicago, Illinois
He wanted to be a teacher
He was a senior with a 3.9 grade point average, first in class to get into college. By early October, he had acceptances from Talladega College and Tennessee State University.
He was a people person, pursuing teaching, “a field in which there is a shortage of black men.” Then his mentor at Butler College Prep got “the call” he dreaded. “It hurts like hell,” he said.
James Garrett, 18, was shot in the back on Oct. 6, 2018, at a vigil for a friend in Chicago, Illinois. Two days later, 675 people mourned him at the memorial Butler held in his honor.
