JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A banquet for Jacksonville high school graduates took a different tone this year. Graduates were still celebrated, but one graduate was missing: 18-year-old Rashaud Fields, who died just hours after his graduation from Raines High School.
Attendees at the banquet honored Fields' memory.
"I can at least bring some type of healing and some change for them. I know I can’t take the pain away but at least try to lift their spirits," said Henderson.
Fields family was at the event, wearing t-shirts with his name on it. They say they are very thankful for the community’s outreach and support.
“We’re glad that they still remember him that’s what they want to do is to keep his name out and on the news billboards whatever we can do to keep his name alive," Kizzy James, a family member of Fields, said.
Fields' family spoke to the press on May 25. They spoke of a boy with a big personality, who they affectionately referred to do as 'Dookie.' They loved him.
"You took my nephew away, but you will never take his dream away," Wyllena Williams, Fields' aunt, said. "There ain't no rest to us until there's closure."
Police have not said they have made an arrest in connection with Fields' death. His family has asked that if "you see something, say something."
Henderson says she hopes that by holding events to celebrate graduates and remembering students like Fields, she can have a positive impact on the community.