Worldwide Candle Lighting 2009

The Compassionate Friends' Worldwide Candle Lighting
TCF Media Stories
TCF Remembrance Book



"I light this candle in the name of Sekai Ayinde Williams."

My friend Lenisa lit this candle in the memory of Sekai.

My friend Angela lit this candle in the memory of her sister Audrey.

Liberty

One day as we were talking about his past, and his feelings about it all, Sekai said to me, "They took my liberty." I asked him to explain what he meant by liberty. "You know, liberty, freedom...to make my own decisions..." He went on: freedom to use his powerchair, to go to a school that would teach him to read, to see his friends outside of school, to be able to walk, to live with his family. "To make my own decisions about how I want to live my life."

Months later as I was helping him get ready for bed, Jeopardy was on in the background. Alex Trebek: "'Give me liberty, or give me death.'" Sekai: "Ooh, that's a good one." "Yes it is," I replied at first, thinking he was talking about it being a good question since people probably knew it, or maybe that it was a good quote. Then I considered the words, and quickly added, "...but not for you!"

Now, I wonder if he knew about the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, or the Convention on the Rights of the Child, neither of which have yet to be ratified by the United States.

He did not believe he would ever have his liberty...

Intersections--more about Sekai

Sekai's story crosses so many roads, sits at so many intersections. The book on his life might contain the following index:

Abandonment
Adaptations
Adoption
Adoption disruption
Anxiety
Aspiration
Aspiration pneumonia
Assessment
Babies, "crack babies"
Babies, conceived/born in prison
Beliefs
Boarder babies
Boarder baby homes
Cartoons, characters
Cerebral palsy
Child abuse
Child neglect
Child welfare
Chocolate
Choices
Christian contemporary music
Cognitive impairment
Colors, bright
Cover-up
Dependence
Depression
Despair
Disability
Disney
Doctors
Education
Education, right to
Employment, right to
Fear
Foster care
Freedom
Funeral services
Gastrostomy-tube
Gospel music
Grief
Group homes
Heaven
Helplessness
Hoplessness
Hospitals
Inclusion
Independence
Interdependence
Juice boxes
Law, legal issues
Learned helplessness
Learning disabilities
Liberty
Lies
Medical appointments
Medical malpractice
Medical neglect
Milkshakes
Modifications
Mopping
Movie: "Bolt"
Movie: "Camp Rock"
Movie: "High School Musical"
Movie: "High School Musical 2"
Movie: "High School Musical 3"
Music
Musicals
Nickelodeon
Nurses
Police
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Psychiatry
Psychology
Radio DJs
Reactive airway disease, asthma
Reality television
Respite
Reunion
Rights
Seclusion
Segregation
Seizures, febrile
Self-determination
Self-injury
Separation
Social work
Song lyrics
Song: “Always”
Song: “I need to find you”
Song: “Life is a highway”
Song: “You are my sunshine”
Sorrow
Special education
Substance abuse and children: drug/substance affected children, prenatal exposure, substance exposed newborns
Suicidal, actions
Suicidal, thoughts
Structural sin
Terror
Trauma response
Tube feedings
Wednesday’s child


I'm not sure why it occurred to me to write this, exactly. Surely his life was so much more. But I guess my point is that surely at least one aspect of his life has to do with at least one aspect of your life. Maybe that will make his story more personal.