“His Smile Lit Up the Room”
In Memory of EL-Leek T. Williams Brace
May 15, 1982- May 16, 2006
He always said, “I just want to make it to 24.” He carried the weight of a world that offered more traps than opportunities, more funerals than futures. But somehow, he held onto light. On May 15, 2006, he turned 24- and he smiled. He smiled like he always did, with a brightness that could shift the air. calm tension and lift heavy hearts. Suddenly he was gone-taken by gun violence while celebrating his birthday.
But he left behind more than grief. he left behind memories, love, and light.
He was my firstborn. My oldest, I had him when I was still a teenager myself. We grew up together. He loved his mom, his grandmother, and his siblings deeply. No matter what he went through, that love never wavered. He was a boy who carried pain-the kind you don’t always see. Being his father’s only child, he often felt alone. He watched his siblings have relationships he didn’t, and that left a mark.