Father Be with Us

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Father Be With Us is a story of healing and reconciliation of the family after a tragedy strikes. The Tillmans are a middle class African American family in a New York City suburb. A few years after the untimely death of his wife, the patriarch of the family, Jeremiah Tillman, loses his life during a confrontation with and over zealous police officer. On the day of Jeremiah's funeral, his two youngest sons, Brandon and Camron, reunite with their distanced older brother, Aaron, for the services. The boys' aunt, Corinthia, is now the glue to try to hold everything together. The brothers must break down some heavy walls between them in order to restore love. Perceptions of the cause of their father's death enrages and weighs the family down, but the actual truth may be even more disheartening. Father Be With Us is a short story that touches on the issues of police brutality, racial profiling, gang culture, community unification and power, and brotherhood.