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Babies and Bullets
"Will was my boy, and to be putting on this button-up and these hard bottom shoes to put him in a casket...it just didn't seem real."
By Pendarvis Harshaw
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Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw talks about the duality of teen pregnancy and youth violence in his community. These realities hit him especially hard when his childhood friend, Will, dies from gun violence just months after the birth of his first son. Pendarvis questions if it’s worth it to have babies at such a young age, given the high emotional and economic stress of raising a child.
I met Will when we were in seventh grade. Up to that point, the biggest
drama had been fistfights, or getting jumped… but death, that was only for
old people.
January 26th of this year, my friend Will was murdered. The church was
crowded for his funeral, wall-to-wall with familiar faces, some of which I
hadn't seen since middle school. Will was my boy, and to be putting on a button-up and these hard bottom shoes to put him in a casket...it just
didn't seem real.
The funeral carried on and on; until one speaker caught my attention when he said, "Will Clay III lives on through his son, Will Clay IV." And someone in the front row held up the four month old. This was my first time seeing Will's baby. His son was born around the time of Will's 19th birthday. Four months later, Will was murdered.
It seems as if every time a teenager gives birth, another teenager dies. Seventh grade was my first taste of the combination dish of babies and bullets. But this year has especially been hard to swallow. Politicians notoriously preach about combating "the high rate of teenage pregnancy." But an honest observation points you toward the actual problem: when young adults get the news they're responsible for another life, they feel an overwhelming amount of pressure.
They stress about having the resources to feed, bath, and clothe their kids. But all of these concerns seem petty when considering the most important responsibility: staying around, and even more so, staying alive to raise their sons and daughters. I wonder if the stress and risk of bringing a newborn into this world is worth it.
But then, I remember how beautiful Will's son looked.
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