Small Deeds
Dear St. John’s,
Every generation or so, a young Black child or teen is thrust into the mainstream, capturing the hearts and minds of the American public—think Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, or a 16-year-old LeBron James gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Tragically, other Black youth become household names not for their extraordinary talent, but because of unthinkable tragedy—Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, and countless others. Now, the name Nolan Wells joins that heartbreaking list.
The investigation into the 18-year-old’s death is ongoing (you can read the full background story here). But the optics are troubling: Nolan traveled to an island with three white friends over the 4th of July weekend. They returned the following day; he did not. His body was recovered two days later. The local sheriff ruled out foul play before an autopsy report was completed, and weeks later, key answers remain missing. The backdrop for all of this? Mississippi.
To be clear, rushing to judgment is never wise. We need only look back to 2006, when white members of the Duke lacrosse team were falsely accused of sexually assaulting a black striptease dancer. Social media and civil rights leaders leapt to conclusions before the truth emerged. While the circumstances here are entirely different, the principle remains: we must hold space for facts to surface.
Yet securing those facts is precisely what feels so broken in modern society. Whether it’s a mysterious death in Mississippi, the lack of transparency following a fatal ICE traffic stop in Maine, or thousands of heavily redacted Epstein files, uncovering the truth feels more elusive than ever.
This is not merely a 21st-century problem; human nature has long sought to bury uncomfortable truths. Even following the death of Jesus, early authorities attempted a cover-up regarding His missing body (Matthew 28:11–15).
As Christians, we are called to seek justice and stand against corrupt systems. Most of us will not do this on a grand national stage, but through quiet, persistent faithfulness. As historian Howard Zinn famously observed, “What matters are the countless small deeds of unknown people, who lay the basis for the significant events that enter history.”
Only time will reveal the full story of Nolan Wells' death—and how history will ultimately remember him.
In Christ,
Anthony+
