LOUISVILLE, Ky. — His voice was recognizable just about anywhere, especially in his beloved home of Louisville.
Sunday, several hundred gathered inside Spirit Filled New Life Church, to the celebrate the life of Jeremiah “Ekoe” Buckner.
“He’s super intelligent. He’ll study everything. He’ll dissect it. That’s what he was about. He was very, very strong – he’s probably one of the strongest of us,” his brother Jason said.
The entrepreneur and original founding member of Linkin' Bridge died in the early days of 2023 – shot and killed in the Russell neighborhood.
“You know, I’m losing somebody that I fought with,” he said.
Jason said Ekoe’s death came at the hands of the very issue he had been fighting to address all his life.
“Yes, he's always been passionate about it. I mean, but at the same time, my brother's passion is physical, but it transcends our physicality – if people only knew what type of light was extinguished, when they took the life of my brother,” he said.
Jason gathered alongside a dozen community activists, Sunday, before his brother's wake to have a candid conversation about the future of the city.
The "roundtable" style conversation lasted over an hour, where leaders shared ideas and personal experiences in hopes of bridging the missing link in Louisville's ongoing battle with violence.
"It's economic, it's knowledge. There are so many different issues that are converging into a bullet being fired," he said.
He believes to prevent the loss of future lives, begins with a community that's willing to take collaborative action in the face of mounting adversity.
Jeremiah "Ekoe" Buckner will be laid to rest Monday at noon, following one final ceremony.
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