CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 150 people attended a vigil Friday to honor a Charleston youth mentor.
Obi Henderson, 31, of Charleston, died Monday in a car accident on Corridor G in South Charleston. According to witnesses, his vehicle came off Parkway Avenue and plunged over a steep embankment.
Henderson founded DREAMS Community Development Corp. in 2013, a non-profit group that works with youth to improve leadership and public speaking skills.
A group of Henderson’s former mentees organized the vigil at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School.
Jon’Nease Copening, who led the organization efforts, said Henderson had a significant impact on the West Side community.
“He wanted you to do good,” Copening said. “We talked about how it was important to love each other and stay strong with our community, and education was a big factor.”
Copening, 12, said she and Henderson would talk on the phone after she moved to Florida last fall. She was in Charleston this week for spring break when she heard the news of Henderson’s death.
“At the end of every conversation, he said, ‘I love you.'”
The vigil opened with a prayer by Rev. Dr. Felicia Wooten Williams, a pastor at Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church and St. Stephens United Methodist Church.
Williams said Henderson’s impact will be felt for years to come.
“Obi was a star among us,” she said. “We may seemingly did not recognize that, or he may not have known just how brightly he shined toward us.”
Numerous people spoke about Henderson’s mentoring work and passion for the community.
Tuesday Taylor was working at Kanawha County Youth Reporting Center in 2011 when she met Henderson. She said when she moved to Ohio in 2015, she always thought back to Henderson’s work.
“When I asked Obi, ‘What is DREAMS?’, he said, ‘That’s my dream I want to give to everybody because if everybody grabs a hold of this dream, it’s not going to be a dream because it’s going to be a reality,'” she said.
Taylor moved back to Charleston in February 2017, and considered quitting youth program work until talking to Henderson.
“He looked at me and said, ‘That’s your passion, that’s your gift.'”
Cheryl Plear, principal at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School, said the rest of the school year will be dedicated to Henderson.
The vigil’s conclusion included lighting candles, singing “Amazing Grace” and releasing white balloons. People attached notes to the balloons, all of which included a personal message for Henderson.
Copening said the people who attended is just a fraction of those impacted by her mentor.
“Mr. Obi was loved by everyone, so we knew it was going to be big,” she said.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday at the First Baptist Church of Charleston. The remembrance will begin at 5:30 p.m. with friend testimonials, followed by the ceremony at 6:30 p.m.