1×25 “Sunrise on Tears”
Written by: Chris Coleman and Kelly Zollo
Guest Starring: Michael B. Jordan (Khalil Watkins), Ben Barnes (Atticus Kavanaguh), Kevin Costner (Forbes Montgomery)

SCOTTSWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

Khalil Watkins stared at the street rage inside of him as he watched the reverend of their church comfort his mother a few blocks from where his brother was gunned down, without even so much as he was told a chance in hell. The cops had always been out for them here in the neighborhood Kendrick had always told him that, they either wanted to use you or send you to the fucking slammer. Cops were dirty all the time, had been for years and the people of Scottswood stuck together through thick and thin. His mother’s tears in the street brought him back down to a dose of reality, they had escaped this neighborhood and this life because of his brother. Bought them a posh house on the other side of town had been paying for private school for his younger siblings and had helped him with college. That was all gone now stolen.

Drugs had brought his brother into the world of the Madden organization but there wasn’t a lot of options for young black men from their neighborhood at the time. Especially with a mother that had spent her days with Yasmine’s mother on the corners of the streets. He didn’t even know who his father was, or who half his siblings fathers were either. Sometimes they barely ate and often times his mother starved to feed them. When Kendrick hit high school that all changed, he came home one day with money and eventually moved them away from the hood. He never asked if his brother did drugs, though Kendrick strongly discouraged them all to do it. He had listened getting good grades and excelling in sports. His brother was happiest with Gina he remembered those times. He and Yasmine had started seeing each other, sneaking around bit and they soon learned that Gina her sister was pregnant with Kendrick.

Even that would end in tragedy and he watched as the reverend tried to comfort his mother and he couldn’t stand it anymore watching her in pain and walked out the door. The street was littered with people and he continued to walk down the road towards the park and downtown he wanted to see the site. The site where is brother was callously gunned down by that asshole cop, where his life was robbed from him. Khalil looked at the people on the streets as he passed, people that Kendrick wouldn’t be able to help anymore how much had his brother given back to where they came from over the years? More than he could count more than he sometimes even cared to think about. No matter how much he tired to separate himself from this world a part would always be with him. You could take the hood out of the boy, but you couldn’t take the boy out of the hood. He waved to a few of his old crew that he recognized as he walked by a life that Kendrick had afforded him to avoid.

Gangs were after him for who his brother was back then, the street credit he could achieve but he had bigger dreams and goals and his older brother made sure he got to them. He made his way to the park and he saw them lined up the people of where he came from. Holding signs, chanting about police brutality and he wanted to join in but held back. He didn’t know the officer that shot his brother from Adam, all he knew was he was white and didn’t give his brother even a chance and when his eyes finally met the memorial that was starting near the underpass rage overcame him. Rage he wasn’t sure he knew where it came from rage at the Madden organization for dragging his brother into this, rage at the circumstances he was born into, rage at the man and higher ups that he faced everyday. He moved through the crowd to the very front watched as one of the protest leaders pointed at him and started to speak.

“They don’t even care they gunned down his brother. We have to take back our place we can’t let them do this anymore!”

Khalil watched as the crowd cheered and he nodded his head going along with her words, he drowned out the noise for a few more seconds though it felt like minutes. His eyes finally landed on a poster in the crowd and he came face to face with the man that killed his brother. He memorized everything about it, the white skin and dark eyes and then he read the name underneath the sign. Jon Harrison. He noted it to memory as he repeated the name over and over again and before he knew it his mouth opened and ti was barely above a whisper.

“Jon Harrison is a dirty cop and a killer. He killed my brother.” He whispered not even sure who he was speaking to.

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