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24 Jun

A Mother’s Pain

My son was killed in an ambush on Churchill Ave in Somerset, NJ by 5 black teenage men on December 31, 2019. There were shots in the double digits but only 2 hit him. The bullets killed him immediately. Read that again… The pain I have to live with daily is a pain no other mother should bear. The things I didn’t sign up for as a MOTHER. Things that nobody who hasn’t experienced this could understand… I can no longer see my son, I...

22 Jun

Wear Orange Speech June 2023

Greetings everyone Good Morning! As you know my name is Kim Banks and I’m the mother of Samaad Frazier. He lost his life at 19 years old to gun violence on December 31, 2019 on Churchill Ave here in Somerset. He was visiting a friend, He was not a gang member or involved in gang activity, he was just at the wrong place at wrong the time. Life has become so invaluable these days and Gun violence has become so prevalent...

22 Jun

Wear Orange Speech June 2022

I wear orange for my son Samaad Zaire Frazier. He was gunned down on Churchill Ave in Somerset on Dec 31 2019 by 5 young men who knew and went to school with him. He was 19 years old and a 2018 graduate of FHS and an elite basketball player. His death was 1 of 3 that year in Somerset. He was preceded by the deaths of Dominic Frederick on May 25 and Monserrat Noyola-Narvaez on October 29. it’s been a difficult journey of healing...

21 May

August 4th

And If I just pause for a moment, If I shut my eyes, I can still smell the scent on your shirt when you hugged me. I can still see the smile on your face too. I always wondered how you would look when you got your braces taken off. That’s all there is for me to do now, Wonder. (For Samaad Frazier 06/21/2000-12/31/2019) By Amira Mustapha “Samaad and I were classmates; met him through mutual friends. Every time Samaad saw me, he always greeted me with kindness!! In...

18 Sep

My Son Lost His Life Because…

Samaad was gunned down by 5 people he knew. My grief journey dealing with murder grief is so different… ...

25 Jul

Dear Samaad,

Who would have ever thought we would end up here? Me alive and you dead at 19. You had more life to live, so much more to accomplish. You were special, never had to study, an all around athlete, but shined in basketball just like your grandfather. I often ask WHY! WHY YOU? WHY ME? WHY OUR FAMILY? When I got the news you were shot I knew then you were gone for some reason. While in route to the hospital I...

16 Mar

Dear Killers….

It took FIVE of you to kill my son Little did you know his destiny was already WON From this pain we will live in his HONOR I know you must have to PONDER As to why you made his name bigger than YONDER You took his LIFE that was all you did Now you’re in jail looking like a piece of SHIT Until the day we die we will SPEAK HIS NAME Too bad for you, you will die in SHAME You turned up a VILLAIN in FivesUpRoddy That’s...

23 Nov

First Annual Youth Over Guns Walk 9/5/20

Samaad was buried on Saturday January 11, 2020. By Monday morning Coach Audrey Taylor was at my house with encouraging words on our next steps. “We cannot let his name die sis.” “We have to keep his legacy going.” I agreed but did not have a direction at the time. I thought long and hard of the many ways we could move forward with her plan, which now became my mission. The Samaad Z Frazier Youth Over Guns Walk was created...

25 May

LIVE 4U By FivesUpRoddy

Samaad’s death was a tragedy but who would have known that so much positivity would come from it. His brother 🖐🏽 Terrod “FivesUpRoddy” decided to take it to another level and make music about those days and moments at the hospital and leading up to his burial. Three months after all of this he dropped his first EP, 5iveTapes PT 1 which is dedicated to Samaad. So much talent and positive things have come from Samaad’s legacy it’s amazing! In...

25 May

MAADY WRLD By FivesUpRoddy

“The pain and the slight echo of the first line of Maady Wrld set the tone for the rest of Roddy’s E.P. He is coming to terms with the death of his friend Samaad “Maady” Frazier but in doing so it lit a fire in him that was unforeseen. The beginning of the song matches this emotion. The first half of the song starts off very slow with no beat, just a slight melodic hum the lyrics show the aftermath of...