Armani Floyd would’ve been bundled up and handing out turkeys alongside his father in Roseland on Wednesday to families in need ahead of Thanksgiving.
Though Armani, 14, was killed in one of two shootings in the Loop last week that left eight other teens wounded, his father felt his son was present spiritually as he handed out more than 50 turkeys.
“Armani was missed. … But we were happy to be able to give back to the community,” Ulysses Floyd Sr., head of Organizing Leaders Inc., said Thursday afternoon. “Even though he wasn’t present physically, he was present spiritually.”
The pain of losing his child to the type of violence they both worked to prevent was still fresh for Floyd, but organizing the giveaway and “staying busy knowing [Armani’s] watching me” helps him endure his grieving one day at a time.
He’s “seeing I’m still being productive and positive like I was teaching him,” Floyd, 75, said.
Floyd has been doing nonprofit work for more than two decades and launched Organizing Leaders Inc. on Aug. 6, 2021, with an emphasis on violence prevention, reentry and youth development.
Armani was involved in the nonprofit as a volunteer and joined his father at various community events, including at the last three Thanksgiving turkey giveaways in Roseland and West Pullman.
“He knew about nonprofits [and] he knew what we were doing,” Floyd said. “I told him one day I wished that he would probably take this over.”
Floyd wants to “continue to enhance and empower my people in the community” and wants to see “everyone in all communities” succeed.
“I want to see everybody live and reach their potential,” Floyd said. “Don’t shoot, let the kids grow up.”
Armani was killed and eight other teenagers were wounded Nov. 21 as shootings erupted during a so-called “teen takeover” in the Loop.
The shootings garnered national attention and renewed a thorny political debate over how to handle teen gatherings.
On Monday night, more than a dozen of Armani’s friends gathered at a South Side basketball court, placing electric candles near a photo of him.
Samsabeen Jones, 18, met Armani through the teen’s sister and admired Armani’s passion for basketball.
“It means a lot to be on the basketball court knowing that was his favorite sport,” Jones said. “It really means a lot [to us], and I know it means a lot to him, too.”
McKinley Nelson said Armani stood out among his peers at Project sWish, an after-school program that uses basketball to prevent gun violence. “He could do more on the floor than the average 14-year-old,” Nelson said.
Others in the program were “hurting and grieving right now because they looked at Armani like a brother,” Nelson said.
Ulysses Floyd Sr. says he’ll dedicate the rest of his life in Armani’s name and hopes to see more celebrations in and around the community.
“I wanna go to graduations, I don’t like going to funerals,” Floyd said.