{"id":10351,"date":"2023-05-17T13:43:22","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T13:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=10351"},"modified":"2023-05-17T14:02:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T14:02:58","slug":"a-day-of-remembrance-for-durhams-youth-lost-to-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2023\/05\/17\/a-day-of-remembrance-for-durhams-youth-lost-to-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day of Remembrance for Durham’s youth lost to violence"},"content":{"rendered":"
Like many elementary school libraries, R.N. Harris\u2019 multi-media center is decorated with stuffed animals, vocabulary word posters, and hundreds of picture books. On Monday, this space became a haven for 10 students. They didn\u2019t read or play; instead, they meditated and reflected on gun violence in Durham.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The students, guided by principal Mshinda Middleton-Brown and counselor Queen Pryor, sat on wooden chairs in a circle, facing one another. Some sat with their legs crossed or knees up, and others let their feet dangle. Pryor led with a moment of silence. Some closed their eyes and bowed their heads; some practiced inhaling and exhaling.<\/span><\/p>\n Somajai,<\/span> who had her hair in two low pigtails and wore a pink shirt and pink Converse sneakers, told the circle that she has recently lost a loved one. To cope, she said, she keeps items they left behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another student, Kameryn Pate, said that when he thinks about Durham\u2019s gun violence and youth killings, he feels \u201coff-balance.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I get upset, I go to my room to cool down,\u201d Kameryn said. “If it is really bad, I will talk to family and friends so it doesn\u2019t build up.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The students at R.N. Harris were among thousands across the school district–<\/span>and at businesses, non-profits, and universities– who took part in a moment of silence at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 15.\u00a0 Spurred by recent tragedies, Durham Public Schools (DPS), the City of Durham, and Durham County set apart May 15 as a Day of Remembrance to support youth safety and remember lives lost to violence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The morning\u2019s moment of silence was bookended by speeches from government officials and high school students in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\n This year, 18 children have been shot in Durham; four have died.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In late March, Angel Caneles Quintana and Osmar Burgos Banegas, both 16, were found dead near a middle school. Quintana went to Riverside High School; Banegas was enrolled at Lakeview Secondary School. Also shot, another boy was taken to the hospital, where he recovered. This happened only a month after Anthony Feaster, a fifteen-year-old student at Hillside High School, was killed in an off-campus shooting. No one has been arrested.<\/span><\/p>\n Asked what the Day of Remembrance meant to them, the students at R.N. Harris said they were happy that the school system encouraged them to discuss and remember those who died. At the end, a student named Skylar<\/span>\u00a0asked Middleton-Brown and Pryor for hugs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/b><\/p>\n At 5:30 p.m., leaders from DPS, the city, and the county convened at the CCB Plaza downtown. Among the speakers were Mayor Elaine O\u2019Neal, County Commissioners Brenda Howerton and Nimasheena Burns, and student activists. More than 100 people\u2014Durham residents, first responders, and government officials\u2014gathered to listen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n