By admin 
Wednesday was supposed to be Nolan Wells’ 19th birthday.
Instead, hundreds of people gathered for a prayer vigil mourning the beloved Ocean Springs teen’s death and celebrating his life at Greater St. John AME Church in Biloxi.
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“As we celebrate what would have been his 19th birthday, I am reminded as a father of a 24-year-old son and the uncle of four nephews between the age of 20 and 24, how dangerous, precarious life can be for a young Black man in America,” CEO of the National Urban League Marc Morial said.
As people packed into the pews of the church, various speakers stepped up to the podium to celebrate the life of Wells and continue to call for transparency and justice as the investigation into his death conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department continues.
“This family has lost a whole lot,” the Rev. Cory Watts said. “It’s up to us to ensure justice is served for this family’s young man.”
Throughout the vigil, speakers called for everyone to join in prayer as they stand in solidarity with the Wonsley family, following an anonymous complaint filed against Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, to the Mississippi Board of Nursing.
“It’s so unfair, it is so unfair to lose your child and to be attacked just for asking for answers,” attorney Ben Crump said. “How is it wrong for them to want answers for what happened to their son?”
The crowd erupted as the Rev. Dr. Jamal Harrison Bryant took the stage demanding an end to the cycle of violence against Black people in America. “Mississippi does not have 31 years,” Bryant said in reference to the assassination of civil rights leader Medgar Evers which took 31 years to be legally resolved.
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“We have a moment to disrupt a cycle,” Bryant said. “Because the same blood that absorbed in Genesis 4 is now the same blood that is stained in Mississippi. To go from Medgar Evers, to Emmett Till, to Nolan Wells, the blood stops here.”
As Bryant called for the Wonsleys to come up to the stage for their own remarks, the crowd began to chant “we love Nolan Wells,” out of support for the family.
On stage, Christine Wonsley talked about memories of her son and how she wished she could have called him on his 19th birthday. “This morning I had to fight the urge to Facetime you and sing my off-tune Happy Birthday song,” Wonsley said. “I miss the warmth of your hugs, I miss hearing you say ‘I love you mom’, I miss everything about you.”
As the Wonsleys concluded their eulogy for their son, Crump led a final chant, demanding that everyone “say his name” as the crowd shouted back “Nolan Wells.”
As the vigil concluded, a birthday cake and balloons were presented to the Wonsleys. Ending the night was a singing of “Happy Birthday” from the crowd as Christine and Elmore Wonsley blew out the candles for what would have been their son’s 19th birthday.
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