Lorenzo Roberson is like any other 10-year-old. He enjoys playing basketball and football — he even wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings when he grows up. He’s energetic, talkative and fidgety. However, Roberson, like many children affected by gun violence, carries a heavy burden.
Kaden Coleman, his best friend, died as a result of gun violence in early February.
After losing his friend to gun violence, Lorenzo wanted to relay a passionate message to City of Cleveland officials to save his own life. On Feb. 19, he decided to speak at a town hall meeting hosted by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb at John F. Kennedy High School, just a few blocks from where he lost his friend.
Wearing a navy blue suit, patterned tie and sneakers, Roberson approached the front of the room, held the microphone and firmly delivered his message.
“Will I have a chance to survive?” Roberson asked the room. “Will my life be cut short too? All we want is hot food, something to do after school and to be safe in our community. You tell me, will the adults in this room make sure that I have a chance to grow?”
He ended his speech invoking the spirit of his lost friend, saying, “I am Kaden! He lives within me!”
The room exploded with applause. Bibb’s response called on community members to act, saying that ending gun violence in Cleveland “is not just a public safety project, it’s a community project.”
Watch Roberson's speech at the 56:15 mark in the video below.
Roberson’s life and friendship with Coleman
Roberson and Coleman had been friends since the second grade. Roberson said they met playing sports at Robert H. Jamison School in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood on Cleveland’s Southeast Side. Roberson was better at soccer while Coleman would best him in basketball and football, but they would also do homework together to push each other to get better grades in school.
“We always used to help each other out, and he was great in our classroom,” Roberson said. “He never had no problems with the teacher and always helped the teacher.”
Roberson said he was also speaking on behalf of his community. He and 10 of his siblings live together in a one-bedroom apartment, and have seen how gun violence and poverty have shaped the lives of others in his neighborhood.
He’s calling on the city to do more, saying, “We should all stop doing violence and help people out, because violence is not the answer.”
As brave as Roberson is, his experience, unfortunately, is not uncommon.
Homicides are the third leading cause of death for young people ages 10-24, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Young people of color are disproportionately affected, as Black children and adolescents are six times more likely to die by firearms than their white counterparts.
Gun violence among young people is a big problem in Cleveland, as 74% of gun deaths in the city are among Black men ages 18 to 33. At a recent regional gun summit in Cleveland, Bibb said that means the city needs to take a more targeted approach, adding, “The prevention side is just as important as the law enforcement side.”
Preventing gun violence through mentorship
Luckily, Roberson has support in his corner.
He considers Oronde East his mentor and father figure. They met four years ago in a parking lot, helping pack groceries in cars for extra money. From there, East said he wanted to play a role in the lives of Roberson and his brothers.
East moved to Cleveland six years ago from Philadelphia as an educator. He wanted a bigger impact on his community, so he, along with The United Black Fund and the City of Cleveland, started The Safety Unit to provide mental and emotional support for boys ages 11 to 17.
“Many people speak about the problems, but few people talk about the solutions,” East said.
After Coleman’s death, Roberson told East he wanted an opportunity to speak at the town hall in February. East helped him write the speech, got him a suit and took him to the town hall. Now, East is looking to expand his mentorship programs into schools all across Cleveland.
“I do this work because we're in a state of emergency,” East said. “We're losing our children to violence and illiteracy. Our goal is to create a literate and safe community.”
East said his mentoring means more than stopping gun violence in Cleveland. It also means changing how young Black men see themselves. He wants to stand as a positive role model for kids across the city, instead of the portrayals they’re seeing through media.
“They learn images of themselves through television, movies, media,” East explained. “And many times, those images are negative and present us as being gangsters, drug dealers and criminals.”
East and Roberson are just a few Cleveland residents rolling up their sleeves to make a change in their communities. Roberson has one last message for the public.
“Throw all the guns away,” Roberson said. "Because violence is not the answer. The answer is to squash the beef and to apologize for what you did to the person."
Those are wise words from a 10-year-old, and it seems the city is following Roberson's lead. Bibb recently signed an executive order to create a cabinet for children and youth, noting the team will create data-driven initiatives to reduce poverty and make Cleveland safer for kids.
Guess who was in attendance right next to the mayor as he signed the order: Lorenzo Roberson.
