The parents of Bakari Henderson, a young man beaten to death in Greece, said their son was more comfortable overseas because of some of the racial tensions in America.
“He just felt it was safer over in Europe and overseas in general. He said with the climate for African-American males in the U.S. that he just felt more comfortable overseas,” Jill Henderson said during an appearance on CBS This Morning.
Her son, Bakari Henderson, was killed in July on the Greek island of Zakynthos — a hot spot for many tourists. He was talking to a waitress in a bar and they took a selfie together, something that irritated a group of Serbian men who were drinking next to him.
“Why are you talking to a black guy?” a Serbian man asked the woman before punching Bakari in the face, according to CBS.
Video from a nearby surveillance camera shows the 22-year-old Texan traveler fleeing a mob of attackers in the seconds before his assailants force him to the ground. He died from severe head injuries after the beating.
Jill Henderson said it may not have been racially motivated to start with, but still “resulted in a black American tragedy.”
An Austin-native and recent graduate of the University of Arizona, Bakari traveled to Greece for a photo shoot in an effort to kick off his new fashion line.Nine people — including a bouncer and bar employee — have been arrested in Bakari’s death and face voluntary manslaughter charges.
“We want justice for Bakari,” Jill Henderson said. “Justice would mean to have everyone involved… to be locked up for a very long time.”
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