2012 Year in Review and a Look Ahead to 2013

My short documentary, "The Mothers," is about the impact of gun murder. It screened at the Carrboro Film Festival in November 2012. I'm standing with other filmmakers here during a Q&A.With 2013 getting into full swing, I’d like to look back at the highlights of 2012 and share some personal and professional plans for the coming year.

I’m extremely grateful and pleased with the reception of my short documentary, “The Mothers,” which I finished in May 2012. The film is about the impact of gun murder. I followed two mothers from the Parents of Murdered Children chapter in Durham and made the film as part of earning a certificate in Documentary Arts from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke.

After the film premiered, I traveled to Arizona, where “The Mothers” was screened during the Parents of Murdered Children national conference. The film was also among 33 films shown during the 7^th annual Carrboro Film Festival.

In addition to screenings, I was a guest on WUNC’s The State of Things with host Frank Stasio and appeared on Tarheel Talk, a FOX 50 TV program focused on community issues in North Carolina.

Like my journalism work, making the film was uniquely rewarding. It made a difference in the lives of Diane Jones and Mina Hampton, the main mothers in the film, and that filled my heart.

Mina’s daughter, Charlotte Hampton, posted a comment on my website as I filmed and wrote updates about the story on this blog:

“This is not a topic that everyone will read, and some who read will not understand. Leanora, you are so brave and so deeply caring to even attempt it. Thank you for letting us know we are not forgotten, and that our loved ones will live on through us and your efforts to bring these stories to others.”Mina Hampton, left, and Diane Jones, right, co-leaders of the Parents of Murdered Children chapter in Durham presented me with this framed portrait of a mother embracing her child.

Just before Christmas, the Parents of Murdered Children chapter in Durham presented me with a framed portrait of a mother embracing her child. As much as I appreciate the gratitude, the greatest gift for me has been the opportunity to get to know this group and learn from the strength, perseverance and love they’ve cultivated in the midst of debilitating grief.

With the short documentary finished, friends, family and peers are asking, “What’s next?”

Truthfully, I’m not sure yet. I’m considering expanding the film but would like to form a team to work with me. If you’re interested in working on a project that will change lives, and you are skilled at shooting video or adept at editing, let’s talk.

In the meantime, I plan to make “The Mothers” available on my website in the coming months. I also hope to host a few community screenings in the coming year.

As I consider next steps for the film, I’ll be getting settled in Durham. Late last summer, I sold my house in North Raleigh and moved to Durham, finally ending a seven-year work commute. For now, I’m living in downtown Durham while I search for a house to buy. Most of my stuff is in storage, but I’m so excited to be a Durham resident. I love living in this city. My drive to work is six minutes, not even close to the nearly hour-long drive home I had after work. Now, I walk to restaurants, theater and other cultural venues.

This November will mark my ninth year as a Duke employee. I’ve got some unique opportunities this year. Specifically, I was selected to participate in the Duke Leadership Academy, a yearlong program to nurture the next generation of leaders at Duke. I’m honored to be part of the fourth class and look forward to learning from my peers.

When I launched this blog in late 2011, it mainly served as a home to post updates about my documentary film and my original news stories about underreported crime in Durham. I enjoyed practicing journalism again (I’m a former newspaper reporter.) I felt proud of reporting stories like the “2011 Year in Review: Homicides in Durham.”

I don’t think I’ll ever shake my crime reporter persona, but I’m going to take some time to think about the next iteration of this blog. I welcome your insights or suggestions.

Thank you for your support in 2012, and I wish you all the best in the coming year.

Durham Documentary to Screen at Parents of Murdered Children National Conference

In August, my short documentary film, The Mothers, will screen at the 26^th annual Parents of Murdered Children national conference in Arizona.

Parents of Murdered Children, a national support group for families and friends who’ve lost loved ones to violence, has chapters from New York to California.

My documentary is about a group of Durham, North Carolina, mothers who support each other through grief and healing after losing a child to murder. On August 9 in Phoenix, The Mothers will be shown to 75 to 100 chapter contacts and leaders, including Diane Jones and Mina Hampton, two mothers in my film who lead the Durham chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.

I talked last week with Beckie Miller, co-chair of this year’s national conference. She expects 300 people to attend the overall conference, which features keynote speakers and workshops covering grief, unsolved homicides, victims’ rights, the aftermath of murder and more.

Miller’s 18-year-old son, Brian, was robbed and shot to death in Phoenix in 1991. For nearly 20 years, she has led the Phoenix chapter of Parents of Murdered Children with 1,500 members.

The national conference, Miller said, is a time for survivors to connect, learn and feel inspired. “It just reminds us that we’re not alone and gives us hope that we can survive,” she said.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to share The Mothers at the conference. I hope to contribute to a larger conversation, one I’d like to expand through other screenings in the city of Durham, which had 27 murders in 2011.

I first screened this film to an overflow audience on May 18, 2012, at The Nasher Museum of Art in Durham. My film was among other short work screened by continuing education students receiving the Certificate in Documentary Arts from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. That night was one of the best evenings of my life.Leanora Minai, left, shares a moment with Diane Jones, right, after the May 18 premiere of The Mothers at The Nasher Museum of Art in Durham. Jones is one of the mothers featured in the film.

The mothers in my film – their strength and courage to survive and help others – inspired me to tell this story. In my years as a daily newspaper reporter, I wrote about many murders, but it was rare to have the chance to follow up on the pain that endures for loved ones long after the headlines disappear.

I am forever grateful to Diane Jones, Mina Hampton and other family members in Durham for letting me into their lives and sharing their stories.

Request a screening of The Mothers

To arrange a screening of The Mothers for your group or community, please get in touch with me. I also welcome any feedback about the film, as I consider the possibility of expanding it into a longer piece. You can post feedback or read comments left by others in the guestbook.

2011 Year in Review: Homicides in Durham

Twenty seven people were murdered in Durham in 2011. A firearm was used in 22 – or 81 percent – of the killings.

It was also a year marked by a 3 percent increase in violent crime in Durham when, according to preliminary FBI semiannual statistics for 2011, the number of reported violent crimes in the U.S. was declining.

And within the first eight days of 2012, three people were fatally shot in Durham.

"This is a very disturbing trend that we, as a community, should not and cannot accept,” Mayor Bill Bell said during a press conference Friday.

Flanked by Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez and about 15 city and county officials in the Durham County Administration Building, Bell announced strategies to reduce gun violence in Durham. They include, among other steps, hefty bails and working to change legislation to ratchet up penalties for gun crimes.

As part of my short documentary film, I’ve been reviewing data related to Durham homicides. Going into 2011, the three-year (2008-2010) average for homicides was 23. Of the 27 homicides in 2011, 11 victims' cases remain open and 13 have been cleared by arrest. Three victims' cases are classified as inactive or not active due to the death of the offender.

I’ve compiled a year-in-review snapshot, which I offer to raise awareness with the hope that it will spark meaningful conversations (even just one) about what can be done to address and mitigate gun violence. With 27 people killed, hundreds of friends and family members are forever changed by the loss.

The following charts and analysis of Durham homicides in 2011 were created by leanoraminai.com using data from the Durham Police Department and other reports. 

Homicides by Month in 2011

Case Status 

Method of Homicides

Race of Victims

Race of Offenders

Gender of Victims

Gender of Offenders

Age of Victims and Offenders

Anyone with information about the unsolved homicide cases from 2011, or other violent crimes, is asked to call Durham CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers offers anonymity and cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of felony crime offenders.

Gunshot Victim at Age 1

Aunehstii Hagans, 1, and brother, Anaryiion, 3, were grazed by bullets that entered their North Driver Street home. Photo by Leanora Minai.

In her North Driver Street home, Dominique Hagans stuffed a roasting chicken to go along with the biscuits, cabbage and macaroni and cheese for Sunday dinner.

“Before I could get to the cabbage, that’s when I heard the gunshots,” said Hagans, 22.

Hagans ran to check on her children and found them in the living room. Stray bullets, fired from a passing car, had grazed her 1-year-old daughter, Aunehstii, and 3-year-old son, Anaryiion. 

Aunehstii was on the floor.

“She was in a puddle of blood,” Hagans said. “I just started panicking and crying.”

The children were treated and released from Duke University Hospital on Oct. 24, a day after the 1 p.m. drive-by shooting in the 200 block of North Driver Street in Durham. A man outside also was injured in the shooting.

According to witness reports, the shots may have been fired from a blue, four-door vehicle with tinted windows.

One bullet penetrated the siding on the front of the home; another bullet went through the front door. Investigators with the Durham Police Department are asking for the public’s help in identifying the people responsible, and Durham CrimeStoppers is offering a reward for tips leading to an arrest.

“We are asking members of the community to call us with any information they might have about this incident,” said Deputy Chief S.M. Mihaich. “We take any case involving children very seriously, and our officers and investigators have been speaking with residents of this neighborhood about this case.”

Hagans said she does not know who fired the bullets but has this message for whoever did:

“I hope you feel like I feel. I hope you turn yourself in because you hurt somebody else’s kids. I hope you learn from your actions. I’m not mad with you. I just feel like you should have thought first before you did what you did. They’re babies. They didn’t deserve to be hurt the way you hurt them.”

Slideshow: Police, Volunteers Canvass for Tips

Anyone with information about the North Driver Street shooting is asked to call Durham Police Investigator Cristaldi at (919) 560-4281, ext. 29123 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.