The violence in the City of Philadelphia is rising to record-breaking numbers. The homicide count in the city has surpassed last year’s count. What do we do? How do we help?
Stephen Gardner and Kaliek Hayes are the founders of Childhoodslost Foundation, a youth mentorship program based in Germantown. The foundation has created 27 original staged productions in the last 11 years. Staying true to their slogan “Art with Purpose,” they produced another show, ChildshoodsLost Chronicles Stage Play. The play was held on March 12th and 13th and featured a cast of local teenagers who they paid to perform.
I am honored to have witnessed the impactful production; I was invited by one of the youth actors in the play, Caprice Cowan, who personally reached out and followed up to ensure that I would be in attendance. Thank you to Caprice and her mother, Dana Cowan.
The Chronicles stage-play was written and directed by Playwright and director Bilal Islam; The Chronicles uses vignettes from youth’s daily lives to highlight how quickly and how youth look for and obtain access to guns and how often these experiences produce traumatic results.
Each story in this production explores scenarios that youth often find themselves caught up in. This production looks at it before it happens and some of the severe outcomes of poor choices. Sadly, since the production, one of the youths that starred in the play fell victim to the gun violence that plagues the city of Philadelphia. Rasheen Robinson aka Nas December 5, 1999 ~ March 22, 2022 (age 22).
It is with a heavy heart and a sad soul that I say these words! Rest well, young king; my guy Nas was one of the stars of our last stage play, Childhoodslost Chronicles!
But more than that–
He was a father’s son, a mother’s love,
He was a cousin, a nephew,
He was a friend,
He was an artist and a mentor to the younger artist!
Nas was a light that was extinguished due to the continued gun violence that plagues the city.
He entered my space as an inspiring actor but transformed into A star, A mentor, A young force whose name eventually we would of a saw in lights. He was that determined and focused on his craft.
Our greatest, greasiest natural resource is our black and brown babies, and too often to frequent to senseless too much, we are offering Rest In Peace, gone too soon!
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