Top 5 xcvi: The Lives They Lived

Gun violence recently surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for American children. The New York Times Magazine recently chronicled five young lives taken too soon.

1. Angellyh Yambo, b. 2006. “She was happiest at home, drawing elaborate, dreamy sketches on her iPad, watching vintage horror movies like ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and feasting on her mother’s black beans, rice and pernil. As Henriquez’s sole daughter, Angie was the family’s uncontested diva, its ‘only queen’ — a girl who seemed to have left the Bronx all but physically. She stayed off the streets and away from crowds, insisting that her mother, a caseworker for a nonprofit, drive her everywhere because the bus made her ‘feel poor’ (to which Henriquez quipped, “The last time I checked, we live in the projects”). She lobbied her mother for frequent manicures and fancy makeup (‘Girl!’ Henriquez would say. ‘I don’t make Sephora dollars!’)” (Written by Andrea Elliott)
2. Rashad Smith, b. 2004. “When other kids bullied Kendrick, Rashad wouldn’t tolerate it; he’d barrel over and accost the bully. ‘We don’t do that here,’ he said. ‘We’re family. We protect each other.’ During a class trip to Waffle House, Rashad made sure to sit next to Kendrick and helped him read the menu. When the waitress approached, Kendrick was too shy to talk, wanting Rashad to place the order for him. Rashad insisted he speak for himself. ‘He made sure that Kendrick had a voice,’ St. Martin says. Crossing the street on the way back to school, Kendrick held Rashad’s hand.” (Written by Nathaniel Rich)
3. Juan Carlos Robles-Corona Jr. b. 2007. “The eldest of four siblings, Junior looked just like his father, but everyone knew that he was his mama’s boy at heart. He was her sounding board: when she picked a car, when she planned a family vacation, when she chose Christmas decorations or any little thing. She always asked him, Junior, what do you think? They joked and bickered and relied on each other like best friends. And when they worked together at the Auntie Anne’s, they competed relentlessly. She didn’t want anyone to think that because she had hired her son, he was going to get off easy. Sometimes she’d fill every rack in the oven with fresh pretzels, so that he’d have to butter all the hot baked goods at once. You think you’re faster than me? he’d say, rushing to prove that he could keep up.” (Written by Marcela Valdes)
4. Tioni Theu, b. 2005. “No matter how tough or knowing she appeared online, Tioni never stopped pining for Theresa. If she met someone new, someone with a car, she would ask them to drive her to her mother’s assisted-living facility. ‘That’s tough when your mother does everything,’ her older sister Precious said, ‘and then all of a sudden she can’t do anything for you.’ Online, the loss of Theresa undergirded most of Tioni’s posts, as she performed the role of the rudderless teenager, the daughter starved of mother-love.” (Written by Angela Flournoy)
5. Elijah Gomez, b. 2007. “As he got older, his aunt Crystal helped nurture his love of nature. He treasured stories of day trips to Block Island with her, of making gardens at her house, of once taking a boat ride on the Connecticut River where a guide handed them binoculars and pointed out bald eagles. Most kids in New Haven probably couldn’t name a single nature preserve. Elijah could name four, and he knew two of them — Pond Lily and Long Wharf — as if they were close friends.” (Written by Reginald Dwayne Betts)