Seventy-six years ago a 16-year-old African American boy was abducted while he was in police custody from a Georgia jail.

He was held at gunpoint and whisked away by a group of white men. Hours later he was found dead with five gunshot wounds to his head. He was rushed to hospital but unfortunately died.

At the time the police department didn’t pursue an investigation into the crime that was obviously racially motivated. In fact, a grand jury that was convened only said that the locks to the jail cell locks should have been made better.

That was nearly eight decades ago.

On 26th January 2017, Police Chief of LaGrange, Georgia, stood at the Warren Temple United Methodist Church and apologized. Lou Dekmar apologized for the horrors that Austin was put through and for the role that the police department played in his death by failing to protect him.

Calloway’s family was present, and his cousin called the apology a step in the right direction. Black forgiveness may just lead to our demise.