My greatest title in life has been “little brother.” I was made for the job and had the greatest big brother, Sean. We were 10 years apart in age, but there was no place my brother would not let me go with him. High school football games, the movie theater, the shopping mall, amusement parks. I made sure I was the best little brother, and he was the best big brother.
Sean was taken from us on July 15, 1993, in Takoma Park, Maryland, just four days shy of his 23rd birthday. He hadn’t been married a year, and my nephew was just months old. Sadly, we still don’t know who killed him or why he was killed.
I am still proud to be the little brother. The little brother who has turned his pain into a platform — that moment into a microphone — to share my experience and give voice to the children like me who lost a sibling and could not find the words to express the heartache. My greatest title in life has been little brother.