The Passing of Michael Teasley

By

R.L. Nave


From: Jackson Free Press




JACKSON — Friends are remembering Michael Teasley for his loyalty and activism. The 40-year-old Jackson State University student died yesterday, apparently from natural causes.  In a 2011 interview with the Jackson Free Press after his election as president of the JSU branch of the NAACP -- the first time for a white person in the school's history -- Teasley discussed his plans to reinvigorate college students to vote.

People who knew Teasley expressed shock at the news of his death and shared remembrances on his Facebook page. One friend recounted Teasley's remarks about the death of a JSU professor. #"You do so much for people and they just forget you fast," Teasley said at the time. #Of Teasley's death, his friend wrote: "Well, I'm not going to forget my friend, my colleague, my sparring partner in debates about approaches to crime prevention and activism and someone who always had my back and yours."




 

My Comments

I did not personally know Michael, but his passing struck a chord in me, maybe something about being in the midst of so much nastiness, downright hatred, and  meanness that has come to represent the true nature of life here in the Bible Belt, where GOP Jesus runs a majority of the churches, state houses, AND governor's offices.

The air is combustible now, held in check only by the oppressive humidity, but always within a millisecond of ignition by a lightning strike or a stray bullet. Just by reading and listening to some of Michael's fellow students, makes me understand that he got IT, just like a core group of folks here in the South do get IT.

So, Michael, may you rest in peace, and may the rest of us continue forward, for there is MUCH work to be done. Peace.