All Things Bright and Beautiful
Gods Kids (It shouldn't hurt to be a
child.)
Why the color
blue?
During the past several years, the blue ribbon
has been widely recognized as a national symbol of child
abuse awareness. This movement began in the spring of
1989, when a concerned grandmother, Bonnie Finney, of
Norfolk, Va., took a stand against child abuse after
experiencing the death of her grandson. She tied a
symbolic blue ribbon to her van as a signal to her
community of her personal commitment to involve everyone
in the battle to stop child abuse. Bonnie’s own
grandson, Michael Wayne "Bubba" Dickenson, was a tragic,
young victim, and his death gave her the strength to
encourage others to help in the fight against child
abuse and neglect. The spirit of her blue ribbon grew,
and it inspired a statewide community based effort to
join forces in this tragic battle. In her own
words:
Dear
Advocate for the Child:
NO! It isn’t true! It simply cannot be true! They
are telling me that my grandson is dead ... they are
wrong! There must be some mistake ... Michael is fine
... but
deep in my heart, I knew it was true for I have not seen
him in weeks. It’s been so long since I sat by his side
in the hospital. Of course I knew something was wrong as
I sat there. I saw fear on his face, the bruises on his
body, and the healing cigarette burns on his hands. His
doctor did not believe my daughter’s story ... "he
fell in slippery water in the bathtub" ... I felt
sick ... I didn’t understand ... Are my granddaughters
all right, was all I thought. Where are
they?
I
only had one child. She was a beautiful little girl. She
was the light of our eyes. We knew she had entered into
a stormy marriage, for we brought her home several times
in the five years the marriage lasted. We suspected
heavy use of drugs ... BUT ... in those five years,
three beautiful, healthy children had been born. I loved
them dearly, and they loved me. The children were 16
months, 3 years and 4 years
old.
After
the ordeal at the hospital, my grandson was placed in
foster care for three weeks. He cried when they came to
take him back to his mother. He told his foster mother,
"my momma doesn’t love me," and he begged to stay. I
ached for his dilemma. I was not physically able to care
for him. The courts seemed to believe that home was the
best place for him ... but I knew better and I told ...
no, begged them not to return him to his mother. But I
was overruled. My instinct as a grandmother did not
count.
I
never saw Michael again. My 16 month old granddaughter
was hospitalized after being beaten severely ... her leg
was broken in four places, and her hand burned from the
tip of her little fingers to her wrist. It was only then
that the "search was on" for Michael. We learned that he
had been killed, wrapped in a sheet, stuffed in a tool
box and dumped in to a dismal swamp three months
earlier.
My
grandchildren had suffered and battled so much
throughout their young lives that it sickened me. My
life was turned into physical and mental chaos. My
efforts to understand became a plea to stop abusing
children. I tied a blue ribbon on my van antenna to make
people wonder. It caught on locally with restaurants,
businesses, the police department and radio and
television stations. They all started supporting me in
my efforts to make a real awareness
campaign.
Why
the color blue? I never intend to forget the battered,
bruised bodies of my grandchildren. Bruises are black,
then eventually blue. Therefore, blue serves as a
constant reminder to me to fight for our children.
Everyday, I pray that our children will be allowed to
hear the sounds of a different
drummer.
Join
with me ... we must protect our most precious gift of
all ... our children. Please wear a blue ribbon ... put
one on your car ... give one to your friends ... tell
them what it means ... you may be saving a child’s life!
If you suspect anything is happening to your children
... your grandchildren ... the child next door ...
PLEASE ACT! If you don’t get any results or a response,
please try again. You may not hear their screams ... you
may not see their bruises ... so check for the pain and
screams in their eyes.
Bonnie Finney, Norfolk,
Va.
The
determination of Bonnie Finney is a major reason why The
National Exchange Club and the National Exchange Club
Foundation decided to become so strongly involved in the
Blue Ribbon campaign. Exchange wants to make a public
commitment to Bonnie, along with countless children and
parents, to help improve the quality of life for many by
preventing child abuse
From the Child Abuse Prevention
Foundation. Reprinted with
permission.
Please feel free to take the above logo and
place it on your site to show your support in the fight
against child abuse. Make sure you link your logo back
to:
http://www.wingsoffiresurvivors.com/blue.htm
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