'Wish I could see her at 16,' Sandra Parks' mom says on golden birthday
Mom of Sandra Parks speaks out ahead of golden birthday
A young victim of gun violence, killed in her own home by a stray bullet, was remembered on the eve of her sixteenth birthday.
MILWAUKEE - A young victim of gun violence, killed in her own home by a stray bullet, was remembered Monday Feb. 15 -- on the eve of her 16th birthday.
Sandra Parks would be celebrating her Sweet 16 and golden birthday on Tuesday, Feb. 16, but on Nov. 19, 2018, she was robbed of that milestone and many others to come.
Sandra Parks
Bernice Parks said she wants nothing more than for her daughter to be celebrating with her. If she were here, Sandra would be in high school now. Her mom said Sandra would still be writing and taking charge of her world.
"Sandra would be 16," said Bernice Parks, Sandra's mom.
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It's a special birthday many young girls look forward to, a coming of age celebration that for Sandra Parks would also be her golden birthday.
"I don’t get to see the smiles at the age of 16," said Bernice Parks. "I don’t get to see her date at the age of 16. All that’s over with for me."
Sandra Parks
Bernice Parks can only dream of the young woman her daughter would become.
"Her silliness, her smile," she said. "Sandra was the boss of her own world."
This milestone and many others were taken from Sandra in November 2018 when she was struck by a stray bullet while sitting in her own home. Two men are behind bars for her death, but Bernice Parks said that doesn't change her reality.
"I wish I could see her at 16. It's not right. My baby didn't have to leave this world because of someone else's stupidity," said Bernice Parks.
Sandra Parks
Sandra Parks, Bernice said, was a determined little girl -- confident, with a passion for writing, who often wrote about gun violence.
A folder of poems left behind still brings her mom to tears.
"She didn’t have to leave," said Bernice Parks. "It still hurts."
Through the pain, and especially on Feb. 16th, Bernice Parks said she's determined to keep Sandra's memory and her words alive.
Sandra Parks
"I’m not going to let my baby be gone and her stuff not be heard, her words not be heard," she said.
On Sandra's birthday, Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m., Bernice asks loved ones to meet at Graceland Cemetery to enjoy cupcakes and celebrate Sandra's life. A balloon release is planned for 5:30 p.m.