Contributed photo.
Tyrick B. Keyes.
Though his life was cut short, Tyrick B. Keyes will always be remembered at the corner of Bassett and Newhall streets.
Alders gave unanimous final approval to designating that corner in the Newhallville section of the city as “Tyrick B. Keyes Corner” in honor of the 14-year-old who was shot last summer and died four days later at the hospital.
Newhallville Alder Delphine Clyburn joined forces with Tyrick’s mother Demethra Telford in an effort to collect signatures in support of memorializing the teen who aspired to be a dancer and to, as Telford said in a letter she wrote, “take his mom out of the hood.”
The neighborhood collected more than enough signatures to move the designation forward and the Board of Alders City Services and Environmental Policy Committee supported it, moving the order favorably out of committee.
Telford couldn’t make it to Thursday’s meeting where alders passed the order that will put Tyrick’s name at the corner near where he was shot that fateful day. Clyburn, who has taken Telford under her wing since the shooting, stood in for Tyrick’s mom, reading the letter to her colleagues.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Clyburn.
“Tyrick B. Keyes, a resident of New Haven was a vibrant, fourteen-year-old youth who lived his life to help people in his community,” Telford wrote. “He never believed in violence. He focused on what he loved and that was helping people and dancing.
“Tyrick’s legacy and memory will always be alive in our hearts and our minds,” she went on. “Tyrick was not a bad kid. He was never arrested and was a wonderful soul. He loved to help the elderly, he loved to garden, play football and dance.
Christopher Peak Photo
Tyrick’s mother Demethra Telford at his funeral last July.
“I feel that naming a corner after Tyrick will be a good thing for the community,” Telford added. “A corner in his honor will help people to keep pushing and fighting against violence in our community. When a person asks who this corner is named after and they hear the story of this awesome youth they will be inspired to help the community.”
Clyburn choked up while reading the letter. She said after the meeting that she still regularly checks in on Telford who now lives on Diamond Street.
“I continue to walk with her through this and reading this just takes me back to that day when he was shot,” Clyburn said.
Thank you, Delphine Clyburn for always being there for the love of community and in the community - not just in New Haven, but throughout the world. The power of her loves goes everywhere!
What an honor to have her loving spirit in our community!