Black men are three times more likely than white men to die during interactions with law enforcement, according to a Drexel University study published in 2017. There have also been many cases when Black men who have died during police intervention have been highly publicized, but still leave their families with questions.
A group of mothers in the Gulf South knows this pain and are supporting each other through their shared grief and fight for justice.
On May 30, friends and family gathered in the backyard of Glenn and Sabrina Foster’s residence in New Orleans to celebrate the life of their son, Glenn Foster Jr.
“He would've been 36 today; May 31st is his birthday,” Sabrina Foster said while holding back tears and sitting in front of a mural of her only son. This was at a recent art exhibit called “Four Lost Sons”, by Walta Focq, a day after the party.
Glenn was a defensive end with the New Orleans Saints for two seasons before retiring in 2016. After football, he became an entrepreneur. He founded Southern L.A. Granite, where his team offers premium tile and stone work.
In 2021, Glenn was driving through Pickens County, Alabama, on a business trip when he was pulled over for speeding. Pickens County law enforcement took him into custody for allegedly leading them on a high-speed chase. Three days later, he was found dead in the backseat of a police car, leaving behind his wife, Pamela, and their four daughters.
Sabrina Foster has spent the last 5 years trying to get answers.
“It's amazing to me how the grand jury found that there was no reason to dig into his situation,” she said. “They said that Glenn died of cardiovascular disease at the age of 31.”
The Foster family commissioned an independent autopsy that found Glenn died from strangulation and torture. In 2023, they filed a lawsuit against former Pickens County officials, and last year, they gathered outside of Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, demanding the NFL speak out about Glenn’s case.
To this day, no substantial movement has been made in Glenn’s case. Despite this nightmare, they still celebrate Glenn’s birthday every year. At this year’s party, everyone wore white in his honor.
Deanna Joseph and Bettersten Wade — mothers with similar stories to Sabrina Foster’s — traveled across state lines to support the Fosters.
Bettersten Wade’s son, Dexter Wade, was 37 years old when he left home March 5, 2023, and was run over by a police car in Mississippi. Bettersten filed a missing person’s report for Dexter on March 14. For nearly six months, she looked for him without receiving answers.
“I was looking for him in all kinds of abandoned houses, ditches, everywhere I could look for him that I thought he might be, because I thought somebody might have killed him,” she said.
Bettersten Wade eventually found Dexter Wade buried in an unmarked grave behind the county jail.
Deanna Joseph’s son, Andrew Joseph III, was only 14 years old when he was fatally hit by a car while trying to cross an interstate in Florida on February 7, 2014.
While attending ‘Student Day’ at the Florida State Fairgrounds, Andrew was among 98 other students who were taken into police custody after a fight broke out. Later, police released him onto a busy intersection 2 miles away from the fair. While in custody, the police didn’t notify his parents and they didn’t see him until after he was hit and killed. She remembers her son loving football, video games and music. His death took a toll on the entire family.
“So that began our advocacy work and us being able to make changes, effective changes, whereas now children get a ride home,” Joseph said. “Now parents get called when their children are in police custody, and also changes within the school district itself.”
This connection through pain is strong amongst these mothers.
“Sadly, we met through the struggles, through the death of our children,” Joseph said of her relationship with Sabrina Foster and Bettersten Wade.
When Glenn died, Sabrina Foster looked for other families dealing with similar situations. She said she didn't know who to talk to about fighting back against the injustice of her son's death. She discovered Building Bridges.
Marquell Bridges created the non-profit to support families impacted by police violence or who had a family member die during police intervention. The program led to the three mothers becoming close.
“Whether that's finding them attorneys, raising awareness for them, organizing protests, petitions, town halls — whatever is needed,” Bridges said.
Bridges said, ideally, he wants to meet families within the first 48 hours of their crisis. He said that time period is critical.
“The first day you should connect with the family, let them know what you would like to do, get their blessing to do so and then get to work,” he said.
By way of Building Bridges, Sabrina Foster said the families meet every Wednesday to plan demonstrations or let each other know about events like Glenn Foster Jr’s birthday celebration.
Tragedy has transformed these mothers into Civil Rights advocates. They’ve led demonstrations and founded advocacy groups.
Sabrina Foster said before Glenn’s death, she would see protests on TV. Now, she’s on the front lines.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
