Bakari Hendersonhad his future mapped out. The Austin native was a lifelong entrepreneur — he started his first business in grade school, selling rocks to classmates — and after earning a degree in finance and entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona, he was finally ready to turn his dream of launching an apparel brand into a full-time commitment.
“He was always headstrong and knew what he wanted to do,” Bakari’s mother, Jill Henderson, tells PEOPLE. “He would set his goals and pretty much they would come to realization.”
But not two months after receiving his diploma, on July 7, 2017, Bakari’s promising life was tragically cut short during a celebratory graduation trip with friends on the Greek island of Zakynthos.
The vacation started as bliss. “We were at this secret cliff-diving spot that most tourists have no clue about,” says the friend who organized the trip, reflecting on one of his last memories with Bakari. “That was just like one of the best days.” Then that night, the boys' relaxing getaway turned anything but.
The man then slapped Bakari, and Bakari briefly fought back before fleeing. A mob of mostly Serbian men joined the aggressor, chasing Bakari into the street, surrounding him and fatally beating him.
The entire incident, beginning with the selfie, was caught onsurveillance video.
Bakari Henderson.Courtesy Henderson Family
“We were so, so proud of him,” says Bakari’s father, Phil Henderson. “He had just recently graduated, we sent him off to Greece and he came back home, dead in a box, a week later.”
Bakari, an experienced traveler, felt safer as a Black man overseas, his parents say. “In the U.S. you have to prep young [Black] people for all kinds of interactions. … I think he felt overseas those rules were not as applicable,” Jill says. “We found that not to be true.”
Jill and Phil believe that Bakari’s race played a role in the attack. “Why else would you [bring up his skin color] if there wasn’t some type of racial tension?” Jill asks.
Nine of Bakari’s 10 attackers were later identified andcharged with intentional homicidein Greece. Of the nine, six were convicted on lesser assault charges and three were freed. None was found guilty of murder.
“It felt like the court system had a part to play in the murder,” says friend Chris Vineyard, who first met Bakari in sixth grade. “I mean the evidence is all there on that footage. How’s that not enough?”
Fortunately for Bakari’s loved ones, a Greek prosecutor agreed. Appalled that the attackers got lenient sentences — if any sentence at all — he quickly ordered a retrial, a rare move that would not be legal in the United States due to double jeopardy laws that prevent people from being tried for the same crime twice.
Phil and Jill Henderson outside court in Greece during the initial trial.Giannis Androutsopoulos/AP/Shutterstock
The retrial was scheduled to begin in early 2020 but has been repeatedly delayed, even after Vice President Kamala Harris raised the case with the Greek prime minister in February. The next hearing is currently scheduled to begin on Friday, March 11.
The delays have kept the Hendersons in a sort of “limbo” as they await closure. “You almost feel like you’re stuck,” Jill says in this week’s issue of PEOPLE. “It’s hard to continue on with your life because you’re just waiting on this to end.”
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A middle child of three, Bakari was “the heartbeat of the family,” Jill says — and in his friend groups, he played no smaller of a role. “He never met a stranger, not even as a kid,” Jill says.
Bakari celebrates his birthday.Bakari with older brother, PJ, and younger sister, Jory.Bakari dressed as a cowboy.Bakari celebrates his birthday.PHOTO: The Henderson FamilyBakari with older brother, PJ, and younger sister, Jory.PHOTO: The Henderson FamilyBakari dressed as a cowboy.PHOTO: The Henderson Family
Bakari celebrates his birthday.Bakari with older brother, PJ, and younger sister, Jory.Bakari dressed as a cowboy.
Bakari celebrates his birthday.
Bakari with older brother, PJ, and younger sister, Jory.
Bakari dressed as a cowboy.
Bakari celebrates his birthday.PHOTO: The Henderson FamilyBakari with older brother, PJ, and younger sister, Jory.PHOTO: The Henderson FamilyBakari dressed as a cowboy.PHOTO: The Henderson Family
“He had all the attributes you look for. If you’re ever in trouble, he would drop what he was doing to come help you,” Vineyard says. “Someone you really want to spend your time with, who makes you better.”
“Everyone that knew him, loved the kid. He was one of the most effortlessly cool people you’d ever meet,” says another friend, who asked to remain unnamed. “He had this temperament about him where it didn’t matter really what situation he was in, what life was throwing at him, he was always the most calm, cool, and collected guy you’d find.”
“He’s the type of person that you would want to be your child,” King tells PEOPLE. “Whether he’s Black or he’s white, you just like this kid.”
Gayle King interviews Phil and Jill Henderson, parents of Bakari Henderson.CBS Mornings
Every day since meeting Bakari’s family, King has worn an elastic bracelet with Bakari’s name and the date of his killing. “I’ll do fancy-schmancy photo shoots and people will say, ‘Could you please remove that purple bracelet?’ I go, ‘No.’ ‘Could you maybe hide it?’ I go, ‘No. No,'” she says. “I intend to wear it until they get justice in the case.”
For more on the Hendersons’ journey to justice for Bakari,subscribe now to PEOPLE, or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.
While the Hendersons want to ensure Bakari’s death isn’t forgotten, they too are honoring his life. In 2018 they started an LLC for Bakari’s apparel line,Bakari Luxury Sportswear, which sells men’s and women’s clothing.
The Hendersons at a Bakari Foundation event.The Henderson Family
A portion of the proceeds from Bakari Luxury Sportswear goes to theBakari Foundation, a nonprofit the Hendersons established in his name that offers international retreats to grief-stricken families to help them heal. “We just wanted the platform to make sure that siblings are included,” Jill explains, “because a lot of times siblings are left out when you’re talking of the grieving process.”
The Bakari Foundation also partnered with a Texas high school last fall to teach youth finance and entrepreneurship skills.
As they await the results of the second trial, Phil and Jill hold dear their final conversation with their son. “Bakari FaceTimed us very early in the morning because he wanted to be the first one to wish his dad a happy birthday,” Jill says. He told them Greece had been amazing so far. “He was joyful, excited, his usual, upbeat self.”
source: people.com
