‘I can’t let them see me down.’ Opa-locka teen’s poise shines despite tragedies.
For the past three months, 13-year-old Ka’Mora McKenzie has worn the same gold medallion around her neck.
A photo — not just any photo, her favorite photo — of four people with their arms around one another sits in the middle of the pendant. Pictured are her mother, Sally Aponte, her two younger siblings, Ja’Dore Myles and Ja’Quevin Myles Jr., and McKenzie, all beaming from ear to ear. She remembers the day it was taken: Sept. 7, 2020, Ja’Quevin’s birthday.
“That was the last day we enjoyed ourselves with her,” McKenzie said, referring to her mother.
Eight days later, Aponte, 30, was killed in a random shooting. Just like that, McKenzie and her siblings were orphans, a grim addition to a string of deaths that included the fatal shooting of her stepfather Ja’Quevin Sr. in 2012 and the loss of her maternal grandmother Maria Sterling to pneumonia in 2017. The losses forced the teen to grow up quickly, to keep it together for the sake of her brother and sister.
“I can’t let them see me down,” said McKenzie, an Opa-locka native.
McKenzie’s selflessness and perseverance moved Denise Brown, the founder of the RJT Foundation, an organization that works with families affected by gun violence. She has known the teen since the age of 5. McKenzie’s radiant smile, which has survived a series of tragedies, led Brown to nominate the eighth-grader for the Wish Book, the Miami Herald’s annual holiday season program that helps families in South Florida.
“It just hasn’t left,” Brown said of McKenzie’s smile. “She always tries to smile, even through her pain.”
Jackie Hall, the elder Ja’Quevin’s mother and the three children’s legal guardian, lauded McKenzie’s maturity.
McKenzie’s attitude also sets an example for her younger siblings. Her brother Ja’Quevin, at 8 the youngest of the three, is still as playful and smiley as ever, while 9-year-old Ja’Dore takes after her older sister in loving music and dance.
Hall’s family has no need for qualifiers like step-this or half-that that inherently distance relatives from one another. It only matters that they’re a family now and, despite the occasional struggle, the matriarch is enjoying watching her granddaughter grow up.
“If I’m doing something, she’ll pick up the slack,” Hall, 55, said. “Like if I don’t cook, she makes sure that [her siblings] eat. She helps them out with a lot of things.”
McKenzie’s Christmas wish speaks to that very growth. When Brown asked what she wanted, the Lake Stevens Middle student eschewed popular conventions by requesting something simple.
“The first thing she said was a pillow with her mom’s picture,” Brown recalled.
Of course there were other wishes like a laptop, as well as clothes and toys for her siblings, but the pillowcase stands out. Just months away from being a high school freshman, McKenzie views the pillow as a protector of sorts, something to provide a sense of security in her ever-changing world.
“When I go to sleep, it’ll feel like she’s next to me,” McKenzie explained, wanting the image on the pillow to match the one in the medallion.
More mature than the average 13-year-old, McKenzie can initially appear guarded. Socializing with classmates doesn’t really appeal to her; she prefers to read, journal or master the latest TikTok dance. But hidden beneath her quiet demeanor is an ambition fueled by vows made to fallen relatives.
“I made a promise to my grandmother and my mother that I will finish school and become something in life,” McKenzie said.
With plans to attend either Hialeah High or Turner Tech next fall, both of which have programs geared toward her planned career in nursing, McKenzie intends to keep those promises. Becoming a nurse will allow her not just to be around kids, something that she’s very fond of, but also to follow in Sterling’s footsteps.
“Before she passed, she was a nurse,” McKenzie said.
In the meantime, McKenzie is focused on wrapping up middle school. She’s looking forward to showing out at her school’s dance team tryouts. She’s already a pro at the Corvette Corvette, one of the latest TikTok dance trends, and expects to learn several more routines by year’s end. She’s even excited to be back in the classroom after months of virtual learning.
While Aponte won’t be there to witness McKenzie’s dance performances or graduation, the teen wants to be able tell her all about it before going to sleep. Seeing her mother’s enthusiastic grin — which Brown says McKenzie mirrors with every smile — for just a few precious moments before bed will motivate the teen to accomplish more in the morning.
HOW TO HELP
Wish Book is trying to help hundreds of families in need this year. To donate, pay securely at MiamiHerald.com/wishbook. For information, call 305-376-2906 or email wishbook@miamiherald.com. (The most requested items are often laptops and tablet for school, furniture, and accessible vans) Read more at MiamiHerald.com/wishbook.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
