Memorial Day is traditionally a holiday honoring the lives of members of the United States Armed Forces who died in service to their country.
While many families adhered to the tradition of honoring fallen service members Monday, others gathered to remember the lives of loved ones killed on the subway.
The family of Annetreuna Bowden gathered for their third annual Memorial Day vigil for the 17-year-old who was killed at Stonegate Meadows Apartments in 2021. The case has not yet been resolved.
Boweden’s family, friends and loved ones, along with representatives from several anti-violence groups, united to pay respects to all those who have lost their lives to crime around Kansas City. The gathering of more than 20 people, many wearing T-shirts with Bowden’s image on them, gathered outside the apartment complex where Bowden was killed.
Bowden’s aunt, Massia Releford, organized the vigil to keep the case in the minds of the community so that her niece’s death will hopefully not remain just another unsolved murder.
“These things happen all the time, but not until it happens to you,” Releford says. “We want answers, we want justice and the opportunity for closure.”
The event opened with a prayer from Bishop Frank Douglas of Beth Judah Ministries, whose son was shot and killed in 2019. He believes many in the community have become desensitized.
“My son was not a victim, he became a victim,” Douglas said. “I lost my son to gun violence five years ago and stand here with this family today.”
Douglas works with the AdHoc Group Against Crime and started the Heart of the Father Initiative, which focuses on helping young men get involved in the community.
Gayle Williams, founder of the Ray-Ann Memorial Foundation, also came to speak and express solidarity with the Bowden family. She urged anyone with information about unsolved murders in Kansas City to come forward. Williams, the mother of two murdered daughters killed in 2017, has campaigned against domestic violence within the community in the years since their deaths.
“We are going to be that voice for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Williams said. “No child, niece or daughter should ever be lost to violence.”
Douglas and Williams hope that these expressions of unity, which center on the pain caused by gun violence, will show the region’s youth, who have been traumatized by the losses, that they are not alone.
Damon Daniel, president of the AdHoc Group Against Crime, says his organization is organizing dozens of vigils like the one for Bowden. Daniel is grateful that he has been able to spend this Remembrance Day over the past ten years in his position with people who are also committed to ending violence and bringing about real change.
“I’ve seen a lot more community efforts to address these issues because so many people are affected by gun violence,” Daniel says. “We need to keep the memories of these victims alive and want the community to come together to change the culture of violence and generational trauma.”
When the vigil ended, Releford said they would be putting up flyers all day asking for information about Bowden’s death. They will spend time together as a family.
“Every year we seem to grow and it’s not just our family anymore,” Releford said. “Our hearts are all broken and we have come together to find comfort and support and to be here for each other.”
