Newark Says Farewell to Beloved Teen
Kayla Spivey, A Starlight Wrapped in Brown Skin
by Zayid Muhammad*
Transcend
Worship Center Church, one of the largest in the county, was full yesterday. Upstairs
and downstairs. It was overwhelmingly
filled with a sea of the eyes and hearts
of Newark teens drowning in shock and grief as they all said goodbye to their
vibrant friend 16 year old Kayla Spivey who was tragically shot and
killed in a domestic violence incident on June 30th!
An
incredible and even more pointedly painful aspect of Kayla’s violent death was
that she was an active voice and presence in and out of several of the Newark
CVI (Community based Violence Intervention) programs, most recently the
Peacekeepers, a program that targets young people Kayla’s age and is itself a
full and vibrant program. Just as incredibly, it came at a time when the Newark
CVI ecosystem (network organizational, community and institutional support
systems) was developing a fresh new strategy to target the rise of domestic
violence.
Perhaps
Kayla’s mother, Jalisa Tutt, summed it up best as she wound down the
heartbreaking homegoing service when she asked desperately:
“How do
you protect a child from someone they love,” she cried out, overwhelmed with
the hurt of “betrayal.”
Kayla
was shot by someone she knew and loved on June 27th and passed away from her
wounds several days later.
Her suspected
assailant is now in police custody.
The
incident was also painfully reminiscent of another similar unforgettable incident,
the recent killing of Sanaa Amenhotep.Sanaa had been set up to be killed by
those who she loved, by those who she thought were her ‘friends.’ In Sanaa’s
case, she had actually gone missing compelling her father, pioneering
peacemaker Sharif Amenhotep to sojourn from New Jersey all the way to South
Carolina to shake up the southern community that Sanaa’s mother had relocated
to before the authorities ultimately found Sanaa.
Sanaa
was also only 16.
Among
those participating in the homegoing was Mayor Ras Baraka by video. Newark’s
Shani Baraka Women’s Center was named after the Mayor’s sister, who was killed
in a domestic violence incident. Rev
Patrick Counsel, Newark’s South Ward Councilman, gave a loaded prayer of
comfort. Newark chaplain and manager of the Community Safe Zone Hassans Kirby,
who ironically is leading the development of a Men Against Domestic Violence
group as a part of the domestic violence strategy, was not going to be
confined to scripture reading with his presence. Rev. Louise Rountree, the
forever busy Councilwoman at Large who was once a fixture of Newark’s legendary
Newark AntiViolence Coalition, presided.
Kayla’s
principal at Newark’s University High, Genique Flournoy Hamiltion told a number
of endearing stories capturing Kayla’s passionate magnetic personality and how
she admired how Kayla wanted to be seen for each accomplishment and effort she
made to improve herself and told how she was once particularly challenged to
walk Kayla to the bus stop one day concerned about Kayla’s well being.
“Where
are you going Principal Hamilton,” someone asked.
“I’m
going where I’m needed,” answered the caring educator.
“I’m
going with Kayla,” she finished pointedly.
Her
uncle, peacemaker Khalil Tutt, cofounder of New Direction, an important Newark
CVI program, hammered home a similar after Principal Hamilton.
“I pray
that this situation wakes us up,” he said pleadingly.
“We have
more Kaylas to protect,” he finished.
“I have
never been in a situation like this before,” admitted Shadee Dukes of New
Direction as he struggled for words to address his feelings.
“We will build a movement”
based on what happened to Kayla, said Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Keesha Eure.
“Kayla was more than a statistic,” she
emphasized and continued.
“She was
a starlight wrapped in brown skin.”
©2025 All Rights Reserved
*Zayid
Muhammad is the New Jersey Strategist for Equal Justice USA
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