Knezil L. Harper - Murder Victim

How do I begin the story of my cousin.

Well ...........

My cousin Knezil had experienced a harsh life from the beginning to the end. Growing up as a child in the heart of Chicago was a real experience for him. His mother disowned him and his sister when they were very small children. His mother was also an alcoholic and his father also drank and was abusive to his family.

He learned to live on his own, growing up in the streets. The place filled with deep dark secrets that entail all that is forbidden, it is a place for no soul to be placed. As a teenager, life for him was total despair. He came to accept that his was just another face in the crowd with no one to help him, only my grandmother and my mother to do their best to assist him when needed. He did what he could to stay alive, he followed the streets, robbing, stealing, drugs, etc. He later paid his dues in prison. While he was in prison, his sister, at thirty-six years of age, died of heart disease. He also lost his brother within six months.

After prison, Knezil had a new outlook on life. Knezil was an intelligent African - American male. He finished his education and received his GED. His dreams were short-lived due to the streets that he could not escape. He started to drink and became very unstable when it came to his drinking.

On March 21, 2000 at 1:30am, my cousin got up from his bed to answer the door. A guy or some guys were yelling and calling out another man's name at his door. My cousin went to the door, stood and looked through the peep hole to see who they were, and without opening the door at all, my cousin informed the guys that no one lived there. My cousin was then shot through the closed door in the chest, then as he twisted around, was shot twice in the side. He twisted again, and was shot twice in the other side. He died at the hospital at the age of thirty-seven. Sadness...................sigh

You know something, we may never understand why things happen to us; we must leave it up to God for us to cope and heal. What is the question of WHY? We analyze, reject it, project it, probe it, think about it and still there will never be an understanding of WHY. Death affects everyone and everything around us; we think it, we see it, yet each will continue a different journey that ............... is each our own.

Enjoy the life that you have today.

Jivi J ......P.E.A.C.E let the violence S/T/O/P!!