In six days I’ve endured more tragedy than most can handle. My strength and faith are being tested! Time has become so precious now. I only have minutes and seconds, no more days/weeks, just moments. In times like this it’s easy to blame yourself, try to find ways that you could have stopped this or wish you could have made different choices as a parent. The fact is… I could never have stopped the people who made the decision to take his life that afternoon!

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m writing this blog as a way for me, my boys, my family and my community to heal from this tragic event and to celebrate my son Samaad Fraizer’s life. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

My life changed on December 31, 2019. As I was preparing for a small party for my closest friends, I got word that my son Samaad Frazier had been shot not far from our home in Somerset, NJ. After hours of surgery, he passed away from 2 gunshot wounds. He was only 19 years old and had so much more life to live! After graduating high school he lost his way and became depressed and used drugs to cope. Only a month earlier he took steps to change his life for the better and beat his depression. He reached out to one of his mentors Coach Taylor for help. He was a star basketball player so it was only fitting he contacted her to get back in the gym and use basketball to heal his pain. He started a new job too. He was on his way. 

Before this on Christmas day I found my oldest son Jamal unconscious on the couch grasping for breath. He was taken to the hospital and later diagnosed with pneumonia and severe sepsis. He was hospitalized for 5 days and has a significant hearing loss but is recovering well.

It’s hard to find understanding in all of this. It’s hard to understand how young people, who were Samaad’s classmates, not much older than him and a couple of them even younger, could take his life just like that. There was NO regard to his goals, aspirations, his family, and/or friends. It’s disturbing to know their hatred was that serious that they decided to handle the situation this way!

After his burial last weekend (1/11/20) I found a sense of peace. Peace in knowing Samaad left a legacy in 19 years, peace in knowing he was loved by so many, peace in knowing he loved so many people, peace in knowing everything I taught him about loyalty and love and respect he gave to everyone without me knowing. I celebrated his life that weekend not his death. I will miss his touch, his laugh, his smile, his hardheadedness, his sense of humor, every single thing about him. But I will not let his legacy die! Until we meet again son I will cherish your memory forever.