Nothing But A Man: The Story of Darrell Woods

The following true story was torn from the headlines of an Atlanta newspaper over eight years ago. It is the story of Darrell Woods, a hard-working father and husband, who was brutally murdered by a 13-year-old drug dealer.  If Darrell Woods had been white, it would have been on the national news, with a made-for-television movie, and college scholarships set aside for his children. But Darrell Woods was a black man and his story, like too many others, will be forgotten in the media rush to meet a deadline with something bloodier.

MKN dedicates this web page to the memory of Darrell Woods, and all the hard-working black fathers and husbands, who will never receive their props.

January 24, 1997

Darrell Woods is married to Kenya Woods. Together they have two little boys - Tracey, 5, and Devon, 2.  Darrell is 23, a machine operator. Kenya, the same age, is a medical technology student.  They have been married for three years....and next summer they are due to have
another baby.

Last Tuesday night, January 21, Kenya picked up Darrell at work . He had worked four hours of overtime, which he frequently did to make ends meet. Together with their two little sons, they went for a quick dinner at Captain D's Seafood restaurant.  On the way home, Kenya
became thirsty and stopped at a neighborhood grocery store.  It was near the apartment they had rented for 3 months.

The young mother got out of the car by herself at 7:20p.m.  She was a nickel short of the price of the drink and went outside to get it from her husband.   When she returned to the store, she heard gunshots. She saw a short, slim man running away, and many people standing in front of the store.

She rushed to her husband's side.  He was leaning over to one side, with one hand pushing his sons down. "I could tell he was leaving us," she said. "I held him and kept telling him not to go, that I loved him, but I knew he was leaving us. That guy didn't just kill Darrell.  He killed a part of me, a part of my sons, and a part of this baby I'm expecting, who will never know Darrell."

Kenya Woods cannot believe that her hard-working, good-natured husband is gone.  They never went out or partied with friends, she said.  Even on New Year's Eve, they opted to stay home and celebrate with their children.

Kenya had tried to run after the killer herself,  but she was stopped by a man who urged her to protect herself for the children. It hurts her that as many as 20 people witnessed the shooting, but no one is cooperating with the police.  She wonders how she will explain that to her children. "The only thing Darrell wanted was to raise his family and have a home," she said.  "He didn't ask for handouts.  We were raising our sons to be men; we didn't want to raise thugs.  It's going to be hard to keep them on track now with this picture playing in their minds." 

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Why am I telling this story? Because some one must. Darrell was a richard-wright-invisible-man.  He worked hard, loved his wife, adored his children.  But he didn't have a 40-inch vertical leap; he couldn't bug-eye his way across a TV screen. But with the last ounce of strength he could muster, he pushed his children out of harm's way, and probably prayed that his wife would stay inside the store long enough to avoid being hurt.

Darrell Woods was  a man.... and someone needs to say "amen".

(January 29, 1997)

Last weekend a black church offered a 2,000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr. Woods' murderer, which brought the total reward to 4,000 dollars. Because of the reward, police received several leads. Today (Jan29) Atlanta police arrested a 13-year old boy for the murder of Darrell Woods.  Why did he kill Mr. Woods?    

Apparently, when Darrell drove up to the grocery store, he had his headlights on.  They remained on as he waited for his wife.   Taking the headlights as a signal, a young drug dealer approached the car and offered to sell Mr. Woods drugs.  Incensed, Darrell told the dealer to leave him alone, the dealer took offense and shot him, point blank.  

Somewhere in an Atlanta jail sits a 13-yr-old thug feeling full of himself.  After all, he killed two people with one bullet....

Due to the stress she is under,  Kenya  Woods miscarried her baby this morning.

Independent and very proud, Darrell would not tell his brothers he had moved his wife and children to a neighborhood where prostitutes and junkies walk the streets....so he could save money to put his wife through school.  His mother had no idea he was eating peanut butter
sandwiches for dinner so that his children could have better meals.

"He wasn't raised to live like that," said his uncle, Calvin Woods, "That was a sacrifice he was making for his family."  Ronald Woods had last saw his younger brother 3 days before he died.  They had been out together, but when they parted, Darrell insisted on being dropped off
in downtown Atlanta rather than be driven home to the neighborhood he moved to three months ago.

"He knew I would have gotten him out of there, so he didn't tell me where he was living.   When I got home after that, I looked under my car seat and he had left me $5 for giving him a ride.  That was who Darrell was.  He was eating peanut butter sandwiches, but he was
thinking of me."

It has now been reported that the 13-yr-old shot Darrell three times. And before this thug (street name - "Little B") was arrested, he spent a day hanging out with his brother's girlfriend.  He got a haircut and went to an upscale mall to shop for sneakers.  Remorse? Not likely. There is a very good possibility that he will be tried as an adult, thanks to the Juvenile Justice Act, which states that anyone 13 or older charged with such a crime as this automatically will be treated as an adult.

Each story I hear like this hurts me, but Darrell's was special because he was one of the decent brothers who fought to do the right thing.  He had an agenda that was about his
love of his family.  He struggled to put his wife through school where she is studying to become a medical technician.  Lofty goals? Maybe not for you or me.  But for Darrell it was like shooting for the moon.

They will never write a book about him;  Hollywood will never put him on the wide screen with Denzel in the title role, because The Hero is supposed to Live.  Maybe they need to re-think the criteria. Darrell had a spirit that will live on in ways they, with all their special effects, can never understand.

That's why, though I never knew him;  I can never forget him.

... and I hope you won't either.

-Richard Kenyada

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