Lanita Brooks used to always look forward to Mother’s Day.
Each year, the second Sunday in May was a time to honor her mother. It was also a day where her children would celebrate her and she’d feel especially loved.
While Brooks doesn’t exactly dread the holiday now – she still has her mother and five of her kids – for the last seven years, her heart has hurt a little extra when the holiday rolls around. She, like hundreds of other mothers in Wilmington, has lost one of her children to gun violence.
Seventeen-year-old Deshon “Poppy” Sellers was gunned down in February 2015 when a member of the Touch Money Gang opened fire on him around the corner from Brooks’ home. Three-and-a-half years after Sellers’ murder, his killer was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Brooks’ journey since her son’s death has been excruciating. Not long after he was killed, she tried to take her own life. She’s gotten help since then and speaks openly about her experience.
Through her grief, she’s also found strength she never believed she had. In 2018, it led her to create a Wilmington support group for mothers who have lost children to gun violence, and last year, it motivated her – in conjunction with the support group – to host a Mother’s Day brunch for anyone who’s lost a loved one to gun violence,
BACKGROUND: Mother’s Day will never be the same for these Wilmington-area moms
This year, Brooks hopes the event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at One Village Alliance in Wilmington, will be even bigger and better.
“There are so many of us out here and I think (at) this type of event, mothers don’t feel scared to talk because all of us are in the same boat,” Brooks said. “But it’s not only geared to mothers who have lost loved ones.
“It’s also geared to other mothers as well, because without their support, we can’t get through this and stop (gun violence).”
‘Is this really my life?’
A year before Sellers was killed, his best friend was gunned down in Wilmington.
As Brooks watched the young man’s mother grieve, as she watched her son cry, she couldn’t imagine going through the same thing.
Then, it happened to her.
To this day, there are times when Brooks can’t believe her son is gone. She knows he’ll never come walking through her door again, but “waking up every day and not seeing him is still hard.”
“It’s hard for me to be like, ‘Wow, I’m really going through this journey,’” Brooks said. “Like, is this really my life now?”
While Saturday’s brunch is intended to provide support to the many mothers like Brooks, she said it’s also a way for people “to wake up.”
Data shows that the victims and perpetrators of most of Wilmington’s gun violence make up a very small percent of the city’s population. In part, this is because it’s often members of a victim’s inner circle who either become victims – as in Sellers’ case – or perpetrators.
While this is not inevitable – there are many people in the city affected by gun violence who do not become victims or perpetrators – this interconnectedness of violence has driven Brooks’ support group to reach out to those who haven’t been touched by a shooting.
“We want them to not just jump on board in the case – God forbid – that it hits their home, but before then,” Brooks said. “That’s the only way this will change.”
Saturday’s brunch will be held at One Village Alliance, located at 31 W. 31st St. in Wilmington. It’s free and attendees can drop in at any time.
Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_
