Living For We

S2E5: Dear Mama


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Through pain, resilience, and unwavering love, mothers carry the weight of loss in ways the world can never fully understand. This episode of Living For We: Keep Ya Head Up shares the voices of mothers who have lost a child to gun violence. It is a testament to their strength, a reflection of the love they continue to hold, and a call for change in communities torn apart by tragedy.


We meet Marshawnette Daniels, the mother of nine-year-old Saniyah Nicholson, who was hit by a stray bullet while sitting in a car eating an ice cream cone. We also hear from Shanika Jackson, who lost her 20-year-old son Demetrius. Worried that he was falling in with the wrong crowd, Shanika continues to seek justice for her son’s murder.


Grief counselor and founder of Not Another Child, Oresa Napper-Williams, understands the profound pain of losing a child to gun violence. Having experienced this loss firsthand, she shares how she found a way forward and offers strategies for navigating the grief process.

These are stories of heartbreak and healing, of women who raised their children with love, only to have them taken too soon. They speak of memories, of dreams left unfulfilled, and of the fight to ensure no other mother endures the same pain.


Because a mother’s love never fades—it transforms into a force for justice.


View our full list of resources here



Have you or someone you know been impacted by gun violence? Or do you have any thoughts about what was shared in today’s episode? Share your story for a chance to be featured on the show!

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Living For WeBy Ideastream Public Media

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