“Camryn’s Corner” Unveiled

There was a piece of 17-year-old Camryn ​“Mooka” Gayle in everyone on Harding Place who danced, cried, burst into laughter, and cheered on her name on Saturday afternoon.

“I see her in each and every person that’s out here,” said Gayle’s mom, Elizabeth Robinson, beneath the newly-unveiled corner sign bearing her late daughter’s name.

Gayle was a bright, bold, silly, fiercely loyal friend and talented dancer who died in a car crash during her senior year of high school in 2021. 

In the years since her death, Gayle’s friends and family have thrown annual block parties at the site of the crash, the intersection of Harding Place and Sherman Parkway. They wear yellow, in honor of Gayle’s favorite color. They revive the joyful spirit she carried wherever she went.

On Saturday afternoon, they closed down the block once again to reveal a new street sign naming the intersection ​“Camryn’s Corner.”

The corner name was the culmination of a years-long effort championed by Robinson and Gayle’s close-knit group of friends, including Shyan Dawson — a survivor of the car crash — and her aunt, Roxanne McCabe. The Board of Alders voted to name the corner after Gayle in April.

Robinson is still fighting for traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps, along the road where her daughter’s car crashed. 

But the sign with Gayle’s name, she said, brought a sense of relief. ​“I’m overwhelmed… I’m just so happy.”

Though tears flowed on Saturday afternoon, the gathering of 50 or so people was far from somber. There were hot dogs, a DJ, bright yellow balloons, children running around, peals of laughter.

Gayle loved to dance: she studied the art form at Co-Op high school, she performed as a cheerleader at Hillhouse, she was a praise dancer at Thomas Chapel Church, and she loved to rope her family into making dance TikToks. So as R&B filled the block, along with a haze of barbecue smoke that seemed almost like a fog machine, her friends turned Harding Place into a dance floor.

Latoyia Gallimore, a cousin of Gayle’s who helped raise her, recalled how the two of them used to sing and dance to Mary J. Blige and Beyonce’s ​“Love a Woman.” 

“We both wanted to be Beyonce,” Gallimore said. She laughed. ​“She said I had to be Mary because I was too old!” 

“She always wanted to be Beyonce,” chimed in Tawana Rambert, another cousin of Gayle’s who helped bring her up. ​“She was a bundle of joy. She wanted to have fun every day … She would be so happy that this was happening for her.”

Gayle left behind a group of friends and loved ones who now call themselves RMG (short for Real Mooka Gang), organizing basketball tournaments in her memory and traveling in her honor.

Alternately blinking back tears and jumping up to dance to Gayle’s favorite songs, Gayle’s friend Shyan Dawson corralled the group together to share memories and stories.

“She’s the person that’s always gonna be your cheerleader,” said April Artis, recalling when Gayle got a cake and a card for Artis’ last high school basketball game playing for Wilbur Cross.

“She made sure everybody got home safe,” said Daniya Cox. ​“She’s our keeper for real.”

“We would laugh about everything,” said Joli Boria, who grew up with Gayle ever since they were six and seven years old. ​“One time, it was so quiet at my mom’s house. The chairs kept squeaking… We just stared at each other and busted out laughing.”

Boria’s two-year-old son was born one year to the day after Gayle’s funeral; Boria named him Caleb Camryn after her best friend.

“She’s fearless. Really, really brave. He’s the same way,” Boria said.

At 5:30 p.m., everyone gathered around the sign, which had been encased in brown paper attached to a dangling string. Dozens of cameras started to record. Gayle’s mom and best friends tugged hard on the string. 

The paper fell. The words ​“Camryn’s Corner” came into view. And the crowd cheered, loud and with love, like Mooka always did.