SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A weekend of celebrations brings the community together in honor of Douglas Lee Williams, whose life was tragically cut short by gun violence. The type of loss many Shreveport families can relate to.
Every Easter weekend, the Williams family gathers with people in the community to do Doug’s favorite thing – shoot hoops. Doug’s sister Cheryl Williams does this to support unity amongst the city’s youth.
“Help them get together and off the streets. Show them something positive if they just get into sports,” Cheryl Williams said.
Williams’s younger brother was a star basketball player at Fairfield High School in 1990.
“He played basketball day and night. He woke up and wanted to play basketball before he ate breakfast,” Williams said.
While playing his favorite sport, Doug was murdered after an argument on the neighborhood court. He was shot in the head on Easter Sunday, just weeks before he would have graduated high school.
“33 years ago, this happened. Senseless gun violence. Just some guy who had already been in trouble. Had just gotten out of jail two weeks before this happened to my brother,” Williams said.
The killing led community leaders to call for action. A park was dedicated in Doug William’s name. He was known as a good kid and a positive example for others.
“It just shocked the city because he was not about any kind of trouble. Never got into trouble or gave my mom trouble. So it was heartbreaking,” Williams said.
Decades have passed. But the killings continue. Just last year, Devin Myers, a star basketball player at Huntington High School, was fatally gunned down one day after his 17th birthday – after what court records referred to as “disagreements” with the gunman who shot him multiple times in the back.
“How crazy is that? That we are still killing each other. How crazy is that,” Williams said.
Her brother’s legacy lives on. On the courts, an annual basketball tournament and the family-fun day are held in his name. Bringing together the city’s youth for an important message.
“With these guns and things on the streets, we just can’t keep killing each other like this,” she said.
The Doug Williams Basketball Camp continues this weekend. The championship games take place inside the Oak Park gymnasium on Saturday. On Sunday, they will host a family-fun day at the park.
