Community gathers to honor 16-year-old killed by stray bullet with scholarship concert
By Zoe Blair
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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — Friends and family gathered in Birmingham for the second annual ‘Watch Me Soar’ scholarship concert to honor Yasmine Wright, who was killed by a stray bullet in 2022 at age 16 while in a car with her aunt.
Janice Wright, who adopted her niece Yasmine and her brother, said the day began with difficulty, as it was once a day of celebration.
Despite the pain, she is using the concert and scholarship to bring joy, kindness and hope to the community in Yasmine’s memory. The event featured songs, prayers and messages of hope, with a preacher affirming, “Her life, her legacy, will continue to live on.”
Janice Wright said the concert was a fitting tribute to her niece.
“What you saw in this room was Yasmine,” she said. “She just exuded so much joy, so much love, so much kindness. She was just the life of the party.”
Reflecting on the tragic day of Jan. 8, 2022, when Yasmine was killed, Janice Wright said, “It never ends. I have my good days and I have my bad days… She died at only 16. She had only a short life. She didn’t touch many people. She didn’t get to go to college.”
Through the scholarship concert, Janice Wright aims to give other children the opportunities Yasmine never had. “When we give the scholarships to different children, they can think about, ‘I got this money due to Yasmine. It was a tragic thing that happened, but still she blessed me. Even gone to heaven, she’s blessing me,'” she said.
Yasmine was an active student at Wenonah High School, and the scholarship funds will support students like her.
“She started off playing the saxophone and then she did the saxophone one year and the next year she became a dancer, so we decided to bless someone that plays the saxophone, someone that danced and just a regular band member,” her aunt said.
The concert raised more than $800, and Wright sent a heartfelt message to Yasmine on her birthday: “I love you and will be watching from heaven above and I am always, always, always in your heart.”
This spring, three Wenonah High School students will receive scholarships in Yasmine’s honor. Efforts to obtain an update on Yasmine’s case from the Birmingham Police Department have not been successful.
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