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“In March of 1995, I lost my oldest son David Hawkins. I witnessed my son perish slowly from a gunshot to the back of his head through his mouth.
After my son’s death, I realized that I, along with my family members, had joined the ranks of countless families experiencing a nightmare, a loved one snatched right out of your life without warning.”
I boarded a late flight headed to Denver, Colorado. I would address the Mayor and City Council at Aurora Municipal Center the following day on February 24, 2020. This day marked the 25th anniversary of the day a bullet changed everything. I didn’t have my mother’s hand to reach for, but I am carrying her voice. When the plane landed, I awoke from a nap and opened my eyes. “Take rest in me” by Deitrick Haddon was playing in my earbuds. 25 years of pain and anguish landed in my chest. But here I was in the place that shattered the emotional equilibrium of my family. My lungs were adjusting to the altitude. I started to cry and stopped. I would not break down here in Denver. I didn’t come this far to cry. I couldn’t walk and could barely breathe so they assisted me through the terminal in a wheelchair. It was the middle of the night, and everything was closed. I thought my brother took this same journey and my mother got his body back. There was a dream buried here. I came to bring life to it. I landed as a stranger. Yet I am home.
Cynbad4Real takes a flight to Denver, Colorado for the first time to address the Aurora City Council .
Cynbad4Real is walking 1,661 miles with a mission to bring national attention to an almost 3 decades old cold case and create a broader outreach gaining enlightenment on the case and empower families of homicide victims. The 1,661 Miles Project is a powerful movement that memorializes the distance from where her brother David Hawkins was born in Washington, DC to Aurora, Colorado, where he was killed, an unsolved homicide, to this day. This walk is symbolic of the long and committed path her family has taken for justice. More than a walk, more than steps she desires to sow seeds of faith, hope, and courage in the collateral experiences along the way.
“Distance to Destiny” is a slogan to evoke that what is impossible for man is not impossible with God. The 1,661 Miles Project is about more than tracking mileage. Every step taken is powered by two scriptures (Matthew 17:20) and (Hebrews 11:1), “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
“With the faith of a mustard seed in me, I say to the mountain—move—and it yielded. I am saying to these obstacles, barriers, or whatever has been in the way of justice—MOVE, and I consider it done. This is a walk for the motivated and inspired heart. For the thousands of families that suffer like mine but not in silence, we have power, we have a voice, and we have victory.”
The majestic mountains and breathtaking scenery make Colorado one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. But I will be leaving my Washington DC/Maryland metropolitan hometown for a much deeper purpose.
I come for more than just the memory of my brother slumped in front of his vehicle at a gas station, with a bullet wound to the head.
I come because my family expects more than a death certificate and a police report from Aurora.
I come to deliver a message for all time.
Hello Aurora. I am ready to face this mountain. I stand before this mountain where justice hid her face. This mountain has been decades in the making. It was supposed to shatter my family’s hopes and dreams. But it didn’t. It strengthened our resolve.
We are bound by a common denominator: the measure of a life. What it means to carry the torch for those robbed of the promise of tomorrow and be an extension of our loved ones’ existence. To this end, I am taking up the cause of my mother’s legacy, reaffirming my commitment to help bring my brother’s killer to justice, and supporting families of homicide victims.
As I embark on this journey, I aim to grow and water beautiful flowers where we all thought nothing would grow. The place where my brother lost his life, a place you call home. I carry the tag of my mother, my slain brother, my entire family, and anyone devastated by the enduring effects of homicide.
I am destined to leave a legacy in Aurora because Aurora left a legacy with me. The way I see it—all roads lead to Aurora, Colorado.
