How Valerie Castile honors her son Philando and his legacy
Valerie Castille is a mother of the movement. She was immersed in this role after the murder of her son of July 6, 2016, Philando, by Jeronimo Yanez of the police department of St. Anthony.
Like Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother and American representative Lucy McBath, Jordan Davis’ mother, Ms. Castille has since used her personal tragedy as a platform for plea and change in politics.
Ms. Castille founded Philando Castile Relief Foundation, not only in the spirit of the sense of philanthropy of her son, but as a mechanism for change of politics in Minneapolis and through the country which can be described in three words: nourish children.
Why we wrote this
Nine years ago, Valerie Castille lost his son, Philando, during a traffic stop which horribly gone out. She is determined that her life will not be forgotten. His heritage can be summed up in three words: feed children. Part of an occasional series.
Mr. Castille had a reputation for ensuring that no child was hungry under his reach. The standard he set during his stay at the JJ Hill Montessori school was maximized on a state scale through its posthumous foundation. The donations of Ms. Castille to the removal of the debt of student lunch – rushing to more than $ 200,000 – inspired Minnesota to become the fourth state to spend a breakfast and free lunch program in all public schools in 2023. Other efforts include a commemorative purse and vacation gifts.
“Whatever I do, I have the community in mind. I want my people to be treated with the same respect and the same dignity that you give to other people, ”explains Ms. Castille. “It is the warrior spirit, and it is anchored in us all. But there are certain things that can happen to you in life to advance this spirit.”
This feeling of reflection has become a series of commemorative monuments, one of which is Philando Castile Peace Garden, adorned with African symbols Adinkra, on the site of his death. On July 6, there was a day of catering and a candlelit vigil. It will be followed by a community barbecue on July 7, on what is called unity.
“The garden is a place of self-reflection and drawing your own conclusions on your life and what you can do to improve the community,” she said.
“I wanted my son to have a chance”
In a room of her house full of memories of her son, she talks about a nickname that suggests that her feeling of leadership predates the death of her son.
“My mother called me” Valerie “. … But my father called me “captain”, “said Ms. Castille, surrounded by paintings and proclamations in a place that she says to be” Phil’s room “. “He called me that because I had a lot of friends [growing up] And they would come to the house with me. He called them my “scorbut crew”. »»
She laughs and smiles in the memory of her father. It is a smile similar to that of Philando, despite his insistence that his son looks like his father “to his teeth”. It is also a smile that denies his hard education in Saint-Louis.
“My parents lived in what they called Cochran [Gardens] In downtown St. Louis. It was a project. … We grew up in poverty, “she said, straightening it.” Everything was brick. Even playgrounds were brick. Nothing like dirt and grass.
“Each project was concrete. They simply threw concrete and negroes stacked on themselves. ”
As one of the six children, the sense of the community and the family of Ms. Castille was forged of the need. She and her family lived on the 11th floor.
“THE [project] I went at 11 years old. Be careful, there were two elevators, and they were still broken. If they were not mowed, they stood out, “she said laughing.” When my mother went to the grocery store, we had a system. … One of us should walk from the first to the third floor, then put the bags back to someone who went from the third to the sixth floor. Someone would go down to nine years and take them to the 11th. ”
The father of Ms. Castille moved to Minnesota in the late 1960s, and each time she visited her, she noticed a dramatic change in the lifestyle. Minneapolis represented something different, and she swore that she had children every time, they lived there. She got pregnant at 26 years old.
“I wanted my son to have a chance. … I wanted to make a new start,” she said. “Because for you to change your life, you need to change your environment. You have to change the people you drag, no matter who they are. You have to pass yourself. “
“It’s a baby miracle”
Philando Divall Castille was born on July 16, 1983, his name recalled the relationship between the mother and the son. “Phil” is a root of the “Philia” Greek word, which means friendship and affection.
“From the start, he was a surprise. He’s a miracle baby,” said Castille. “At the time before getting pregnant, I went to the clinic and they said that I couldn’t have children. For me to get pregnant, I thought it was special in itself.”
His birth has changed everything for the Castiles. Mom obtained a job – two jobs – to ensure that her son had everything he needed. His daughter and Phil’s sister, Allysza, were born almost a decade later. And then, Phil wanted what so many children wanted in 1996.
A pair of Jordans.
“I said,” I can’t afford these shoes! ” Because when you have finished carrying them, you can’t eat them. You need a job, ”she recalls. “I went to downtown Saint Paul and signed the documents [for him to work] Just there in Selby Avenue. »»
His first job? Help repaint and repair the bikes thrown for children. It was the beginning of a service life for children, plus a few jobs here and there.
Selby is a dark place now. According to Ms Castille, the building which housed the first place of employment of Philando now includes a wall painting of people killed by the police.
Eight colorful bells lay in a corner in Philando’s room, one for each letter of his name. In 2022, the students of the kindergarten of the JJ Hill Montessori school, where he worked as a supervisor and mentor of cafeteria, were the stars of a video entitled “Bells for Philando”.
Protection and healing are a common theme in this room. There is a brilliant green amulet that Mrs. Castille is wearing as part of her necklace. He corresponds to the tattoo on his right shoulder – the eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol which represents well -being and protection.
“I know how to fight”
July 6. It is always a difficult date for Ms. Castille and her family. In recent years, they have teamed up with Falcon Heights to honor Philando the 6th and 7th.
And even if it has been almost a decade since the death of Philando, a question remains – a question that has fueled the “warrior spirit” of Ms Castile.
“How can a simple stop of traffic go from zero to murder?” How could it happen? ” she said.
Mr. Yanez, then police officer of St. Anthony Village, pulled Mr. Castille under the pretext of a broken tail light near the Minnesota State Fairgroups, said Yanez later. Mr. Castille, who had a license to legally carry a firearm, revealed that he had a weapon in the car. In a few seconds, Mr. Yanez pulled him several times in front of Mr. Castille’s girlfriend and his 4 -year -old daughter.
A year later, Mr. Yanez was acquitted of guilty manslaughter and accusations of un reigning discharge of a weapon. Demonstrations broke out in twin cities.
“The simplest thing I could have done would have been nothing,” explains Ms. Castille. “But hell not. I know how to fight. I will fight you as you fight others – with knowledge, with respect, with integrity. ”
She and the Foundation made a new national in 2019 after Ms. Castille made a donation of $ 8,000 to the Robbinsdale Cooper High School to clear the debt of the students’ lunch. The Foundation’s work finally led Governor Tim Walz to sign the free school meal bill for children in 2023, but not before the name of Castile was heard on the Prosecutor’s Office of Minnesota State Capitol.
“He was known as the lunch man, or Mr. Phil, to JJ Hill. He knew the name of each student and he never let his children be hungry,” said state senator Oumou Verbeten in March 2023.
“I knew they would spend this bill after her speech,” explains Ms. Castille. “She made them ashamed. We made them ashamed. “
Ms. Castille describes her crusade as a “journey”. She met actor Kerry Washington, the late civil rights icon John Lewis, and others. She also mentions the singer Alicia Keys, whose exhibition “Giants” is currently exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Phil’s room was also there once, so to speak, in a 2018 exhibition entitled “Art and Healing: In The Inh the Instant”.
His Phil is resting at the Calvary cemetery in St. Louis now, alongside Géants, including Dred Scott. The decision of the Supreme Court which bears the name of Scott was also a miscarriage of justice. But Ms. Castille remains unattained.
“I know what my destiny is now. God revealed this to me, ”she said. “He gave me a mission and a mission, and I just play the leader.”
