Honor these children with You Have The Power, and join us for Walk the Talk October 28th in Centennial Park.
I want to tell you about five stories.
They are the stories of:
Abiel Castro, a 13-year-old boy who loved basketball, video games, and school – and who died from a gunshot wound in August 2022.
Nancy Hernández, whose mom had already bought the dress for her daughter’s quinceaňera, a celebration that marks a girl’s passage into womanhood. Exactly a month and one day before the party, Nancy died in a car wreck at the hands of a drunk driver.
Deacon Lane, who loved to cuddle with his mom. In 2022, he died from abuse by his babysitter. He was a month and eight days old.
Dominic Pirtle, a young man who was a great cook by age of 17. After all, he’d learned from the best – his grandmother. In May 2022, while Dominic was helping a friend change a car tire, lost his life to gunfire.
Malia Powell, who was stabbed and killed in June 2022, a young woman who was a cheerleader, great at math, and always the life of the party.
Abiel, Nancy, Deacon, Dominic, and Malia are now honored in the Children’s Memory Garden at Centennial Park. This garden is where we honor the children Nashville has lost to violence.
So far, we have honored 253 young people in the Garden since 1996. We also know there are more children who still deserve to be honored there, too.
These children are Nashville’s children. They are our children.
And that is why I hope you will visit the Garden. I hope you will learn more about the children honored there.
I hope you will affirm the promise we have made to the friends and family of these children: We will always remember them.
In our grief and broken heartedness, Nashville needs to come together.
And we need this garden. Register for the walk here. 