LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It's been exactly one year since Bradley Blackshire was shot and killed by Little Rock police officer Charles Starks.
Blackshire's family honored him on Saturday night by hosting a scholarship dinner to benefit his foundation.
They came together to remember his legacy while honoring community leaders, young and old, for the work they're doing to make the world around them a better place.
The message of the night was clear: the fight for justice isn't over and change starts with the youngest generation.
"The family has lost a son, a life partner, a father, a cousin, a mentor," Malik Saafir, spokesperson for the Blackshire family said.
"This is where Bradley's blood is. This is where he gave it all without intention to do so," keynote speaker Sen. Joyce Elliott said.
Bradley Blackshire was shot and killed by Little Rock police officer Charles Starks on Feb. 22, 2019.
Starks was fired, but the civil service commission gave him his job back.
Saafir said it's been an uphill battle for the family.
"Since that time, the family has still been grieving because of the injustices they have seen along the way, trying to find some accountability for officers who go beyond policy and go beyond the law," he said.
Over the past year, the Blackshire family has turned their mourning into opportunity.
They created a foundation, and now a scholarship dinner and fundraiser in their son's name, to continue to fight for the justice they say Bradley was stripped from.
Sen. Elliott said this foundation is a platform for the younger generation to help make change.
"Bradley didn't plan to die for us. That was not his plan, but it happened and we have to do something to make it matter," she said.
This foundation makes it matter by building up the next generation.
Saafir said awards were given out to six different community members ranging from middle school to middle-aged.
"They have an opportunity to move beyond this hurdle and also be prepared for the next hurdle and become leaders in their own right," he said.
Saafir said the Blackshire Foundation will help the youngest generation by preparing them for the challenges they may face, while showing them they can create a difference.
"Start conversations that will allow community members and stakeholders to come together and begin to change things and allow us to never see what happened to Bradley happen to anyone else ever again," he said.
All the donations and ticket sales from tonight will support the Blackshire Foundation and scholarships they will give out along the way.
Saafir said they hope to make this an annual event.
You can donate to the Blackshire Foundation here.