Newark Community Comes Together to Mourn Death of Local Social Justice Advocate’s Daughter – TAPinto.net
NEWARK, NJ — Hundreds of Newark residents gathered at Weequahic High School on Thursday to honor her life of Sanaa Amenhotep, who was found dead last week in South Carolina.
Sanaa’s parents, Saleemah Graham-Fleming and Sharif Malik Amenhotep, sat at a podium on the high school football field as members of the community came forward to share their fondest memories of the 15-year-old and offered condolences to the grieving family.
“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I speak to you on this day,” Newark Public Schools Superintendent Roger León said during the service. “Today, we mourn Sanaa – the gifts you gave us and the gifts you provided us and reassured us.”
Before Sanaa relocated with her mother to South Carolina, she had been a student at Weequahic High School. In early April, the teen was reported missing from her home. Following her disappearance, her father, a legendary social justice advocate and member of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition went down to South Carolina to begin a people’s search and rally effort. Members from the Newark anti-violence group also went down to participate.
Several weeks later, authorities from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department reported Sanaa’s body was found. She was reported to have been kidnapped and killed after being abducted from her home, authorities said.
Police currently have three suspects in custody for the abduction and killing, two juveniles, including a woman and Traveon Nelson, 18.
Speaking to the crowd before her on Thursday, Sanaa’s mother assured the community that her daughter’s death would not be in vain.
“It doesn’t stop here. They are going to have to kill me because they can’t kill my baby and think that I’m not going to do nothing,” she said. “That girl is going to ring bells if it kills me.”
Joined by her daughters, Sade, Nia and Assata, each of them shared their favorite memories of Sanaa while assuring the community that her spirit lives on.
“I wanted to tell my sister that I love her and I care about her and that I know that she’s alive,” Assata said. “And because I look like her, she’s alive.”
During her address to the community, the mother called for legislation to be named in honor of her daughter that would compel law enforcement to respond more aggressively when a child goes missing and loved ones suspect abduction.
Moments before the service drew to a close, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka spoke to the crowd, drawing connections between violence in the city of Newark and how out-of-state tragedies can still connect to home.
“I know it’s difficult to try to fight the state and fight systemic violence and protect your family at the same time,” Baraka told the family. “What happened in South Carolina, we feel here in Newark.”