Guns - Ledger - Day after brother's killing, teen reads anti-violence poem

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Published in the Star-Ledger, Thursday, May 11, 2006

Behind the brave words, a broken heart
One day after his brother's killing, teen reads anti-violence poem for Newark audience

Thursday, May 11, 2006

BY JONATHAN SCHUPPE
Star-Ledger Staff

Jimmy Kelley's little brother should have been backstage last night at the Robert Treat Academy in Newark, watching as Jimmy recited an original poem about the violence suffocating his city.

The piece, written months ago, was supposed to give people inspiration and hope. But last night, Jimmy was having trouble mustering either. On the day before his reading, Jimmy's little brother, 16-year-old Kelvin, was killed in a drive-by shooting near their Central Ward home.

At first, Jimmy wanted to back out of the reading, which was part of an annual event organized by the nonprofit Stand and Deliver group, which teaches Newark school kids to master public speaking. It was Kelvin who encouraged Jimmy, 17, to start performing in the first place. It was Kelvin who shared his dream of becoming actors.

But yesterday Jimmy changed his mind. When he was introduced, all 300 people rose to their feet, applauded and then fell silent.

"Hello, my name is Jimmy Kelley," he said in a voice not much louder than a whisper. "I'm a senior at Central High School, and tonight, I will read an original poem entitled, 'The Lame Excuse."

In the poem, Jimmy quietly bemoaned the cultural attitudes that keep people mired in crime and poverty. Then he paused to deliver the most poignant lines, and in the process bared his emotions.

''Intelligent, but we don't have the faith

So we are forced to live where we know it ain't safe.

Pow!!! Pow!!! Pow!!! It's the barrel of a gun

And then a mother crying cause she lost her son."

Then, as many of the people began to weep, Jimmy Kelley came close to weeping with them.

It was a remarkably brave performance in the face of a devastating loss.

Jimmy and Kelvin, a junior at Central High School, had been inseparable. Born 11 months apart in family of eight, they grew up mugging for their father's camcorder and putting on goofy skits, hamming their way through childhood. Although they shared a love for acting, their personalities were different, according to their mother, Betty Kelley.

"Jimmy was a homebody, Kelvin was outgoing. Jimmy was into music, Kelvin was into art," she said. "But they were both good communicators. And they were very protective of each other."

Kelvin got serious about performing first, joining Central's speech team in the middle of 2005. He especially liked doing humorous and dramatic scenes from plays.

Inspired by Kelvin, Jimmy joined the team in December. They traveled with the team to National Forensic League competitions around New Jersey, and in February performed at a national tournament at Harvard University.

They also joined Stand and Deliver. A few months ago, Jimmy was selected to perform at last night's annual "Night of Eloquence" featuring the program's best speakers.

Jimmy wrote "The Lame Excuse" for the occasion.

Then, on the eve of his performance, came the gunshots.

At around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, Kelvin and a childhood friend, 16-year-old Hassan Ferguson, were standing in the parking lot at the corner of Morris and 15th avenues. A red car drove past, and a man in the passenger seat drew a shotgun and fired. Both boys were killed. Police are still searching for a suspect and motive.

Jimmy's parents respected his initial choice not to perform. But he changed his mind.

"He made it his business to do this," said his aunt, Annette Williams.

Jimmy hadn't shown the poem to his family. Last night was the first they heard it, and they gathered around him after the reading and hugged him tight through all their tears.

He said he wrote it to tell the story "of everything that goes on in Newark," and "to inspire people, and give them advice."

"But what happens in my poem just happened to me."

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