Two boys lost their mother, Janette Johnson, to murder earlier this month. Now, their community has banded together to support them.
Johnson’s death rocked the local community, leaving her boys, high school senior Zymire Johnson and junior Roger Haney, without their mother only days before prom.
Instead of allowing sorrow to dictate their moment, Kansas City decided to be kind.
RELATED STORIES
READ ALSO: North Carolina woman goes viral for agreeing to become a witness in strangers’ wedding
Zymire and Roger received a memorable prom experience thanks to the work of the local charitable organization “Show Me You Care KC.”
Neighbors, school officials, and business owners came together to celebrate the boys and show support at the famous World War I Museum and Memorial.
Shelle West of Show Me You Care KC told KCTV, “We want to be able to make sure we’re the village, and we can be a support for these children.”
She added, “We have to learn to love each other. We have to show up for each other. We have to bring back villages.”
Kansas City musician Joseph Isaac said, “They’re going to prom without their mom being able to be here. So just me being able to be here for them to show my support.”
Roger was wearing a bright green blazer and brown dress shoes, while Zymire was wearing a stylish brown coat and black bow tie. But maybe the most wonderful aspect of the evening was their mother’s symbolic presence among them.
“We had a designer that was able to design the boutonnieres for our guys,” said Kendrick Carlock, their high school counselor. “We wanted to make sure that their mother was able to go with them off to prom, and they’re looking sharp, she’s looking sharp, and they’re both heading off to prom.”
Chelle Harvey of Chelle Shots Photography was also one of the evening’s photographers.
She said, “I seen confidence, I see resilience. I see ambition. I see just positive—nothing but positive vibes and positive outcome for the boys.”
Their younger siblings joined the two boys for family photos. It served as a reminder that, while their world had permanently changed, they were not alone.
Meanwhile, investigators are looking into Johnson’s death. She was shot on April 4 during an encounter with an unknown suspect near the 6300 block of East 102nd Terrace.
