Ma’Khia Bryant Matters!

On April 20 Ma’Khia Bryant’s life was ended by law enforcement. Since that day, COHHIO has been grieving her loss. Today COHHIO is speaking up about this tragedy.

Ma’Khia Bryant was a vital member of our community and a vulnerable Black girl in Columbus, Ohio. Her family describes her as funny, loving, affectionate and peaceful. Ma’Khia was a daughter, a friend, a high school student, an important and loved Black child of Ohio. Ma’Khia Bryant loved to style her hair and eyebrows to the beat of her favorite songs. She was a big sister with jokes and dreams and goals like one day attending college.

Ma’Khia Bryant matters.

In the hour after the jury reached a verdict in the Chauvin trial, Ma’Khia Bryant, an Ohio foster youth, was fatally shot. On the day her life was taken the resources immediately available to her did not serve or protect her. We must not ignore the glaring, systemic gap that we have created. Ohio’s Black children are not only “at-risk”; they are literally dying, and we must take big, bold action now!

Solving problems like homelessness and police violence can seem insurmountable, but solutions are available. COHHIO has been a leader in solving the problem of homelessness, which like police violence, disproportionately affects people of color. Right now, Ohio’s housing and homeless services agencies have an unprecedented amount of funding available to move unhoused and at-risk Ohioans into safe, stable, housing. With $1.5 billion in emergency rental assistance, $292 million to create permanent homes for homeless Ohioans, and 1,522 emergency housing vouchers coming to Ohio, we now have the resources to effect real change.

It’s imperative that we channel the energy we feel in the wake of Ma’Khia’s death to use these resources to significantly reduce the number of unstably housed Black and Brown youth who are most at risk of violence. Because if we fail, if we squander this opportunity, any one of Ohio’s 8,000 transition age homeless youth will likely become the next Ma’Khia Bryant.

We honor and remember Ohio’s Black children and young adults killed during police encounters in the last 20 years, they matter:

Ma’Khia Bryant age 16 (2021)
Casey Goodson Jr. age 23 (2020)
Arthur Keith age 19 (2020)
Raepheal A. Dell age 23 (2020)
Rodnesha Thompson age 19 (2020)
Desmond Franklin age 23 (2020)
Tyler M. Jones age 24 (2020)
Joseph C. Jewell III (Jo-Jo) age 18 (2020)
Tamia Chappman age 13 (2019)
Mya’nie Nabors age 15 (2019)
Julius Ervin Tate, Jr. age 16 (2019)
Tasjon Tyreek Osbourne age 18 (2019)
Christopher Lee Baker II age 18 (2019)
Kyren Wright age 18 (2019)
Ja’Ron Nero age 23 (2019)
Myah Lee Jones 4 months old (2018)
Eric Jamar Lupain Stromer age 22 (2018)
James Clay age 20 (2018)
Lamar Richardson age 25 (2018)
Thomas Yatsko age 21 (2018)
Amanuel Dagebo age 22 (2018)
Xavier McMullen age 17 (2017)
Isaiah Currie age 20 (2017)
Jamarco McShann age 23 (2017)
Antonio Laffette Ponyard, Jr. age 21 (2017)
Johnigan Reeves age 22 (2017)
Ke’Sharn K. Burney age 25 (2017)
Luke O. Stewart age 23 (2017)
Abdul Razak Ali Artan age 18 (2017)
Jacquarius M. Robinson age 21 (2017)
Tyre King age 16 (2016)
Jawari Porter age 25 (2016)
Kawme Dejuan Patrick 25 (2016)
Henry Green age 23 (2016)
Terry Frost III age 20 (2016)
Marese Vince Collins age 23 (2016)
Kenyon J. Hipps age 21 (2016)
Christopher Kimble age 22 (2016)
Deaunte Lamar Bell age 25 (2015)
Kaleb R. Alexander age 25 (2015)
Airshaan D. Warren age 17 (2015)
Kimoni Calvon “Kodak” Davis age 19 (2015)
Trepierre Hummons age 21 (2015)
QuanDavier Hicks age 22 (2015)
Brandon Jones age 18 (2015)
Decter Torry Hudson age 23 (2015)
Qayyim N. Moore age 25 (2015)
Demarco S. Leary age 17 (2014)
Tamir E. Rice age 14 (2014)
Shawn Anthony Johnson age 22 (2014)
Qusean Whitten age 18 (2014)
Elisha Paul Glass age 20 (2014)
John H. Crawford III age 22 (2014)
Devontae Williams age 21 (2014)
Antwan Anderson age 23 (2014)
Jonathan D. Rodgers age 22 (2013)
Taemarr Walker age 24 (2013)
Kourtney Hahn age 21 (2013)
Emmanuel Gatewood age 24 (2013)
Phillip Lane II age 23 (2013)
Erik Sanford age 24 (2013)
Jermaine C. Coleman, Jr. age 20 (2013)
Kevin M. Bailey age 22 (2013)
Dontez O’Neal age 19 (2013)
Darrell James Parnell age 19 (2012)
Destin A. Thomas age 21 (2012)
Willie Sudduth age 23 (2012)
Jermaine Jones age 25 (2012)
Kenneth C. Smith age 20 (2012)
Davon Mullins age 16 (2011)
Da’Shawn Johnson age 9 (2011)
Obbie Lee Shepard, Jr. age 21 (2011)
Francis Owens age 21 (2011)
Juvon Williams age 18 (2011)
Everette Howard age 18 (2011)
Johntwa E. Bosley age 21 (2011)
Kylen English age 20 (2011)
Leon James age 23 (2011)
Samuel T. Birch age 24 (2011)
Danny Withers, Jr. age 21 (2010)
Marquan Jacqueze Jones-Milton age 14 (2009)
Yuceff W. Young II age 21 (2009)
Devon Tyrone Woods age 21 (2009)
Jermica Wright age 14 (2008)
Benjamin Brewton 20 (2008)
Lawrence White age 22 (2008)
Trajuan F. Johnson age 20 (2007)
Aaron Steele age 23 (2007)
Nolan Hunter age 18 (2007)
Demetrus R. Vinson age 19 (2007)
Henry Bell age 19 (2007)
Trae Akeem Darson age 20 (2006)
Brandon McCloud age 15 (2005)
Nasir Abdi age 23 (2005)
Angelo C. Ferguson age 18 (2005)
David Leon Grisby age 21 (2005)
James A. Cain, Jr. age 22 (2004)
Antwand Yett age 19 (2004)
Arlington Wilson, Jr. age 21 (2004)
Jonathan Crenshaw age 22 (2004)
Brandon Robinson age 24 (2004)
Cameron L. Straughter age 21 (2004)
Dante W. Miller aka Daunte Miller age 20 (2003)
Ricardo Mason age 16 (2002)
Tayvone Kinney age 17 (2002)
Jeffrey Hopkins age 23 (2002)
Jermaine Sanders age 25 (2002)
Ricky Moore, Jr. age 21 (2002)
Cleophis Craver age 20 (2002)
Courtney Mathis age 12 (2001)
Timothy Thomas age 19 (2001)
Adam Wheeler age 21 (2001)
Teri Backie age 19 (2000)
Jasmine R. Backie age 19 (2000)
Alfred Lamont Pope age 23 (2000)
Shawn Abner aka Toryon (2000)
Te’Shaun Abner age 24 (2000)