Memorial Service Held for Maleah Williams

Faith leaders and the NAACP hosted a service for Maleah Williams on New Year’s Day. On a day that would usually be celebrated, these community members gathered to mourn the loss of the one-year-old girl who was shot on Christmas Day.

“I mean look at the situation, we are taking it one day at a time,” said Maleah’s grandmother, Clarissa Farrington, before the service.

Farrington also expressed her displeasure with local churches.

“From the black churches in the community, no reverend or minister reached out to us, just for a prayer, anything,” said Farrington. “I’m just shocked that my community where I lived, where my granddaughter died at, that’s where I was born and raised at. I’m disappointed.”

Mourners gather for the memorial service for one-year-old Maleah Williams. Photo via Joey DeVito.

Michelle Laws, executive director of the North Carolina NAACP and one of the organizers of the service, apologized to the family for the lack of community response.

“We have not done what we needed to do, and should have done, as a community. So from our community and our family, Shaq and Tylena (Maleah’s parents), I say I am sorry that our community didn’t stand quickly enough,” said Laws, who is a past president of the Chapel Hill – Carrboro NAACP.

Ernest Freeman, who grew up with Farrington, expressed his frustration with gun violence.

“This don’t make no sense,” said Freeman. “I’m telling my people this for a plain and simple reason, it needs to stop. We as people – black, white, whatever color we are – we need to come together and learn to love and to stop this hate. This hate is too much.”

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger and Police Chief Chris Blue addressed the crowd. Hemminger said everyone in Chapel Hill had a broken heart on Christmas Day.

“In order to get through this, we need to work together as a community. We need to respond. We need to act. And we need to pull together,” said Hemminger. “We also need to heal and act together as a community and find ways to make these things not happen.”

Mourners gather for the memorial service for one-year-old Maleah Williams. Photo via Joey DeVito.

Three suspects are in custody in connection with the shooting. Ramone Jamarr Alston, Pierre Je Bron Moore and Shaquille Oneill Davis have all been arrested. Alston and Moore have been charged with first-degree murder and are being held in Orange County Jail without bond. Davis was charged with attempted murder and his bond was set at $650,000.

Memorial Service Held for Maleah Williams

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