Devante Bryant: Who is he and why is everyone talking?
Well, let me tell ya, this whole thing with that young fella, Devante Bryant, it’s just a darn shame. A real, real shame. Little fella, just nine years old. Nine years old! Can you believe it? He shoulda been out playin’, laughin’, maybe gettin’ into a little mischief, you know, like kids do.
Instead, he’s… gone. Just like that. Poof! Snatched away. Heard tell it was some kinda shootin’ down in New Orleans. A triple shootin’, they say. Two other young’uns got hurt too, teenagers they was. But Devante… Devante didn’t make it.
- He was supposed to turn ten, you know. July thirty-first. His birthday.
- His daddy, Donald Bryant, they say he’s just heartbroken. Wouldn’t you be?
- They had a funeral for him. Can you imagine? A funeral for a nine-year-old boy. Just breaks your heart, it does.
This Devante fella, they said he was a happy kid. Liked to dance, liked to play sports. Just a regular kid, you know? Full of life. And now… now there’s just a big empty space where he used to be. His family, they’re grievin’ somethin’ awful. Spoke out, they did, talkin’ ’bout how much they miss him. Can’t blame ’em, not one bit.
Makes you think, it does. About how fragile life is. One minute you’re here, the next you’re gone. Just like a blink of an eye. And for what? Some senseless violence? It ain’t right, I tell ya. It just ain’t right. This poor little fella, Devante Bryant, he didn’t deserve this. Nobody does. Especially not a child.
I tell you what, it makes an old woman like me worry. Worry about the world these young’uns are growin’ up in. Seems like every time you turn on the TV or listen to the radio, it’s somethin’ bad. Shootings, fightin’, all sorts of carryin’ on. When’s it gonna stop? When are folks gonna learn to just… get along?
This here Devante Bryant, he was just a little boy. A little Black boy, they say. Don’t matter what color he was though. A child is a child. And losin’ a child… well, there ain’t nothin’ worse. It leaves a hole in your heart that just never heals. I know, I’ve seen it happen before.
Makes you want to hold your own grandkids a little tighter, you know? Tell ’em you love ’em. ‘Cause you never know when it’s gonna be the last time. Life’s too short, it is. Too short for all this hatred and violence. We need to do better. We need to be better. For the sake of these kids, for the sake of the future.
So, rest in peace, little Devante. You were taken too soon, way too soon. And to his family, I just wanna say… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for your loss. There ain’t no words that can make it better, I know. But just know that there are folks out here who are thinkin’ of you, and prayin’ for you. And hopin’ that someday, somehow, we can find a way to stop this senseless violence and keep our children safe.
Tags: Devante Bryant, New Orleans Shooting, Donald Bryant, Triple Shooting, Child Victim, Gun Violence