The killing of a mother-of-three by an ICE agent in Minneapolis after she dropped her son off at school has prompted outrage, with protests spreading across the U.S.
As the country wrestles with the aftermath of Renee Nicole Good’s death, new details have emerged about her life before Wednesday’s fatal shooting.
Though described as a “domestic terrorist” by the Trump administration, the 37 year-old was recognized as an “amazing” poet and an “extremely compassionate” person by those who knew her.
In 2020, Good, then named Renee Nicole Macklin, won a prestigious Academy of American Poets Prize while studying creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia.
Her award-winning poem, titled On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs, appears to explore grand themes including love, science and religion.
In the second stanza she writes:
“I’ve donated bibles to thrift stores
(mashed them in plastic trash bags with an acidic himalayan salt lamp—
the post-baptism bibles, the ones plucked from street corners from the meaty hands of zealots, the dumbed-down, easy-to-read, parasitic kind).”
Following her death, her ex-husband told reporters she was as a devoted Christian who took part in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger.
She loved to sing, participating in a chorus in high school and studying vocal performance in college, and had her former partner had never known her to participate in any kind of protest.
The end of the poem, in particular, looks at the journey from birth until death.
Good summarizes her “understanding” of the cycle of life and death in the final stanza.
“life is merely
to ovum and sperm
and where those two meet
and how often and how well
and what dies there.”
The poem has been described as ”beautiful,” “an incredible work of art,” and “heart-wrenching.”
A brief biography on the school’s website read: “When she is not writing, reading or talking about writing... she has movie marathons and makes messy art.”
Old Dominion University Associate Professor of English Kent Wascom described himself as “heartbroken” in a post on Instagram.
“Renee was one of my first students at ODU. We worked together to make sure she could get her coursework done while pregnant and working multiple jobs,” he wrote.
Good’s death leaves her six-year-old son without parents as his Air Force veteran father died in 2023.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Good’s wife and young son. “Renee was pure sunshine, pure love. She will be desperately missed,” the page reads.
Her death has been described by her family as “murder”, while Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, said the shooting was “state-sponsored terrorism.”
Good’s death has shaken the local community who knew her, with neighbors describing how she loved those around her. Mary Radford, one of Good’s neighbors, said the slain mother of three had a “beautiful family.”
“They have a son. He’s very sweet. He loves our dog. He always has to go run up and pet and play with her,” she said. “They’re always outside playing.”
A former neighbor named only as Rose said Good was “not an extremist.”
“A neighbor who, you know, is not a terrorist,” she said. “Not an extremist. That was just a mom who loved her kids, loved her spouse.”
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