On Jan. 21, 2019, tragedy altered the life of Bishop Frank Douglas of Beth-Judah Ministries in Kansas City, Missouri. It was then that his son, Cameron, was shot and killed at the age of 23.
Cameron left behind a baby girl. Distraught at seeing his granddaughter left fatherless, Douglas vowed to help others avoid the pain his family endured after Cameron’s death.
So, he established a three-pronged nonprofit organization aimed at solving problems he feels contribute to violent crime among Black youth.
The prongs are Heart of the Father Initiative, Project Relentless and the Innovative Seed Group.
The Heart of the Father Initiative seeks to mend the bonds between fathers and their children. The initiative offers parental training and aims to inspire men to become active leaders in their community. The initiative strives to be a moral guide between the natural phases of a man, Douglas said, raising boys into manhood.
A father is “either a problem-solver or a problem-maker,” Douglas said. “And it’s getting a new generation to understand those dynamics about how essential the role of leadership of a father really is in our community and how it can enhance the lives of the children.”
Project Relentless assists families of homicide victims through the court and grieving processes. Douglas’ experience after his son died was painfully educational, having to deal with waiting two years for the court system to convict and sentence his son’s killer.
It was traumatizing for Douglas and his family listen as the defense attorney painted a narrative that attempted to absolve his son’s murderer. Project Relentless prepares parents for the logistics and hardships of trial and provides moral support during a devastating time.
As a faith leader and active member of the community, Douglas said he was more familiar than most about the crime problem within the urban core, but even he and his family were unprepared to deal with as they transitioned from grief into the trial.
If other people’s experiences are like his, he said, “those two years will be by them before they even realize they didn’t understand some vital things that could help them get greater justice.”
Finally, the Innovative Seed Group aims to build community by providing organizational and strategic consulting plus life-skills coaching to individuals and couples.
Douglas’ mission goes to the roots of problems that remain unsolved despite decades of work by so many. Activists have struggled to find where to start in driving real change, but Douglas believes tangible and effective healing in the Black community begins in the home.
As part of its work, Douglas’ initiative has remodeled his childhood home at 5447 Highland Ave. into Healing House. The home’s history of three generations of strong families and fatherhood symbolizes the healing Douglas seeks at the center of a neighborhood in peril. The Healing House will serve as a center for all three prongs of Douglas’ work.
His goal for the Healing House, he said, is seeing some “adult children come by and say, ‘Thank you for helping my father to be the best father that he could be. It changed my father’s life, and it changed my mother’s life,’ because some components deal with how parents that are not in the household together still raise the most valuable commodity on the Earth, which are their offspring.”
Douglas had dreamed of a community-healing project long before Cameron’s death. When his son was killed, he had to put it into action.
This is what Douglas carries with him. He remembers the positive men who influenced him and he holds the memory of a dozen Black male loved ones who have been killed during his lifetime. He steps into the gap between them, rising against this place of despair with love and righteous fellowship