The good often die young, wrapped in innocence and tragedy. Young black girls and boys from the Virgin Islands succumb to a final fate that they in no way attracted or deserved. On their due date, they awake with no intention of saying goodbye to the world. Yet, time and time again an entire community is left searching for hope, like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Our landscapes are now habitually occupied with the cries of all the mothers and loved ones who have lost their babies to senseless gun violence. This isn’t merely a divisive political issue about gun control or Black Lives Matter vs. localized crime. This is a matter of IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY for the Virgin Islands, a public health issue, and a crisis. We are in crisis! With this, I ask you, “what are we going to do about it?” 

Aaron Nicolas Hamilton Ashby

Aaron Nicolas Hamilton Ashby was born on June 22nd, 2006. He was a bright special soul that I had the pleasure of meeting through my mom’s percussion drumline music program at the Addelita Cancryn Jr High School. On July 9th, 2020, I received an urgent call at work that Aaron and his cousin, Rique Ashby were shot and murdered in the Tutu area of St. Thomas while working as summer contractual workers with the Waste Management Authority. Aaron was the complete opposite of the type of person you might assume would have caused their demise. He was smart, musically gifted, and had so much heart. Even after experiencing the face to face trauma of his own father’s death, Aaron contained an endless amount of gratitude and appreciation for life. 

Although Aaron is undoubtedly touching more lives through his death, he was affectionately loved by his role model and big sister, Arnell. He was the sunshine and spitting image of his mom, Andrea. He was loved by my mom who became more than a mentor to him and became his “Mommy Picko”. And he was often set straight by my sister who he affectionately called “Aunty Kira”. Ultimately, he is missed by all those who loved him so dearly and deeply. Aaron’s name now falls on a long list of victims who’ve been robbed of their lives from a senseless gun violence crisis that is plaguing the lives of too many Virgin Islanders to count. 

What occurred on July 9th in broad daylight is not normal. It should not be our reality. It should not be the reality of our children. Each time, this seems to hit a little closer and closer to home. It occurs so frequently that our people are numb, understandably so. 

Moving Past Numbness

I’m no expert when it comes to organizing and civil rights work, but being engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement has taught me that addressing systemic issues like gun violence requires a multifaceted approach. It is not enough and rather limiting to say that the primary responsibility falls on bystanders or members of the community to speak up if they have information. It also doesn’t help for us to point fingers at who the responsibility falls on to mobilize efforts to bring justice to children of our community like Aaron. The responsibility falls on every single one of us. But first, we need to understand that people are numb. All of the trauma we’ve seen and experienced has paralyzed many. We have to get past that feeling of powerlessness in order to build an anti-gun violence movement in the Virgin Islands. 

I have witnessed just how impactful we can be when we weather storms together. Hurricanes Irma and Maria pushed us all to re-adopt a communal mindset. I saw people helping complete strangers. I witnessed community members reaching out to old friends. Near and far, home and abroad, we banned together as a community. This tragedy is another reminder to our community that we need to bring back the “it takes a village to raise a child” mentality. People don’t just wake up one day and take lives. They learn it. It is socially conditioned. Let’s not make #JusticeForAaron a cause only his family has to carry, but one that the entire village carries.

Once we’ve made the shift from numbness and inaction to organizing and movements then we can create a multifaceted approach. We need gang rehabilitative programs implemented in our most disadvantaged neighborhoods. We also need gun control law revisitation along with covert operations investigating the illegal purchasing and selling of firearms. Being a place that has one of the highest murder rates per capita in this region of the world, I think that is only imperative that at a time like now we build a database that tracks the number of lives lost due to gun violence. As a firm supporter of grassroots organizing, let’s not wait on law enforcement to act. Let’s create a movement across all sectors (education, church, and households) that provides justice for all of the children and members of our community lost by centralizing and amplifying the voices of their loved ones. 

Let Tragedy Teach You

Social media is now flooded with adoring pictures and videos of Aaron’s vibrant presence from his family. He didn’t have a perfect life but, as evident in those pictures and videos, he always remained grateful and happy to be here. Let’s use this energy that he had as the driving force of this movement. On Tuesday, July 28th, 2020, Aaron’s family has put together a Candle Light Vigil in the Roosevelt Park from 7:30-9:00 pm in his honor. They are asking community members to wear their masks and please practice social distancing. 

I can’t help but keep revisiting what this tragedy is trying to teach me. I know that it is here to teach every single one of us. Our way past the numbness and through grief is with gratitude. We can’t do that alone. Aaron’s family cannot do that alone. We all have to do that together. We have to bring back the village. We have to not only demand better but be and do better for ourselves and each other. 

It’s no coincidence that the bright young man my mom asked me to start mentoring about two years ago became a special part of Virgin Islands history in such an unfortunate way. I refuse to minimize his walk on this earth only to a victim. I knew Aaron was special from the minute I met him, and now the rest of the Virgin Islands has learned just how special he is too. I just hope that our community sees him as special enough to really do something about it, this time around.