Wednesday evening, Tremé let the brass do the talking. Young Fellaz Brass Band led a second line through the streets of the neighborhood in honor of 80-year-old Augustine Greenwood.
The beloved grandmother was killed Tuesday afternoon after a high school graduation ceremony in New Orleans.
“A second line is one thing for sure that can bring everyone together, can give you that genuine love that you need,” said Rodrick Davis, Sr., who organized the event.
Davis does not know Greenwood’s family personally, but felt called to lift the family up. “I just wanted to take away from the crying, just uplift them and let them know that you’ve got people out here that care. You’ve got people out here that actually want to see y’all get through this,” he said.
Greenwood’s niece, Shafrenia Parker, called her, “Aunt Beedy.”
“I had got a call from my brother, and he was like, ‘Aunt Beedy got murdered’. And everything just froze,” said Parker.
Greenwood, a mother of six and grandmother of 15, was at the Morris Jeff High School graduation ceremony on the Xavier University campus Tuesday. A fight turned into a shooting, and Greenwood and two others were shot.
Greenwood had just watched a grandchild graduate. She did not survive.
Parker says her grandmother, who is Greenwood’s sister, is not doing well with the news. While she’s feeling the love from the second line thrown in Greenwood’s honor, her family is grieving.
Parker said, “Our family is very small. So we really don’t have people to die from violence, you know, like gunshot. So I just want to thank everybody for everything that they did.”
Bound by culture and community, dozens of people came out to eat, drink, and dance. City Councilmember Freddie King III was on hand as well.
“That’s the way we do it in New Orleans,” said King. “We may not know each other personally but we’re all still connected and we’re showing our support to the community, showing them we love them.”
Greenwood’s family says they’re feeling that love, as they mourn they grandmother they call a sweet, humble person. Funeral plans are still in progress.
As of Wednesday, no suspects had been arrested for Greenwood’s death.