Minnion Jackson had a smile a mile wide and he loved to let it erupt at friends, as well as foes, usually disarming them.
He was a quiet 17-year-old, a rarity in itself, who liked hanging with friends, family and teammates on the Green Oaks football team. Although he liked to dress well, Jackson wouldn’t let his mother, Monique, purchase shoes many teenagers demand.
“Minnion liked to save money. He’d tell me they were too expensive,” Monique said through tears Friday when talking about the fourth of her five children who was killed Wednesday in a shooting in north Shreveport.
Jackson played video games with his nephews and was incessantly on his phone looking at Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or logging into Hudl to check out his receiving highlights.
“Minnion was constantly in competition with himself,” Monique said.
Jackson was killed while driving his sister’s Nissen Sentra near the intersection of I-220 and North Market after leaving football practice Wednesday evening at Green Oaks High School. He was shot multiple times by an assailant and was transported to Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport.
Monique received a call from a friend in law enforcement who told her something had happened.
“I had been calling and messaging Minnion, but he didn’t answer – and he would always either answer or text me back – so I became worried,” she said.
A GoFundMe account has been established to assist with Jackson's funeral expenses. Visit: https://bit.ly/2EuVuIl
Monique eventually spoke with a detective and asked if the vehicle had Texas license plates, but she didn’t initially receive an answer. Her daughter called the hospital and was told they had a “John Doe.” Finally, a nurse confirmed that Minnion was indeed there and being treated.
“I went to the hospital and it was my son,” Monique said. “I was told he had a weak pulse, but they were doing what they could for him. But they said if his heart stopped, they wouldn’t do CPR.”
Monique asked to see her son.
“He had been shot in the head and it was so swollen I couldn’t recognize my son,” she said. “I saw the tattoo on his arm and I immediately went to praying.”
MORE:Minnion Jackson tragically killed Wednesday.
Minnion Jackson signed off not long afterward leaving a host of family and friends wondering why this tragedy happened to another young man in this city with so much to live for.
“Every night I pray God‘s grace is over our children. I pray that He protects them from evil. I pray that He protects them from being in harm’s way,” Caddo Schools Superintendent Lamar Goree posted on his Facebook page. I pray that He’s a hedge of protection around them. I truly extend my deepest condolences to the family of Green Oaks’ Minnion Jackson. Regardless of how and why this happened, this was a child’s life stolen far too soon. I pray we stop the senseless violence in our communities. I pray we allow our children to grow and blossom into the wonderful people they are destined to become.”
One of the top athletes in northwest Louisiana, Jackson excelled in both basketball for coaches Grubb and Mario, and football where he had already earned a scholarship offer from De Anza College in Cupertino, California.
“But Minnion didn’t want to go to California,” Monique said. “He wanted to stay closer to home because of family.”
Her son grew up in the New Vision Outreach church and was attending New Love Restoration church with her.
“He didn’t go as often as I would like, but I didn’t want to pressure him too much,” Monique said. “Minnion stayed out of trouble. He didn’t go anywhere except school and football practice. He hung with his friends.
He preferred junk food but would chide his mother about not doing a better job of adding beef to his lanky frame. He liked chilling with slightly older teammate Jy’Ron Ellis, whom he called “my boy.” Jy’Ron called Minnion “his son.” He played basketball in Vivian as a youngster and attended Northwood as a freshman before transferring to Green Oaks. He was learning to weld as a backup plan for not attending college. He absolutely refused to eat pork in any form.
Minnion Jackson was a normal teenager.
Aunt Chewanda Jenkins said the family was asked if Jackson was involved in a gang.
“But Minnion was not like that,” she said.
Monique Jackson has heard some of the details about what happened to her son, although they are sketchy at best. She doesn’t know a lot and has a multitude of questions that may never be adequately answered.
“All I wanted was for Minnion to achieve his dreams in life,” she said. “The fact that he’s left us, I still don’t believe it. All I want is my son back.”
Minnion Jackson was born and died at what is now Ochsner LSU Health.
Twitter: @JimmyWatson6
A GoFundMe account has been setup by the family to help with funeral expenses for Minnion Jackson. To help, visit https://bit.ly/2EuVuIl
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August 29, 2020 at 10:47PM
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Green Oaks’ Minnion Jackson loved life, hated pork and expensive shoes - Shreveport Times
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Pork
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