Former Source Magazine Advertising Assistant Sharieff Clayton (2007) will be laid to rest in Harlem today.
On April 27th, Clayton was shot at a funeral in Flatbush stemming from a 20-year-old beef. The killer, who hasn’t yet been apprehended, remains anonymous.
Sharieff Clayton – an author, mentor, speaker, gang prevention specialist, husband, father and friend – leaves behind four children and his wife, along with a very extensive network of family and friends, a career with CASES, two completed novels, a clothing line he co-owned and a web series, which was underway.
Clayton got mixed up in the streets (like many young men of his generation) while growing up in East New York during the ‘80s, which resulted in a 15-year sentence for manslaughter and robbery. He was paroled in 2007 and immediately secured an Advertising position at The Source, managed Saigon [Abandoned Nation], and began working as a Program Coordinator at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), where he participated in gang identification, deterrence and engagement of gang‐involved youth. He also worked in partnership with the NY Division of Parole conducting student training sessions throughout the NYC Department of Education Schools in efforts to steer students off the path of incarceration.
Also in 2007, Clayton authored debut novel, Honor Amongst Thieves, which was a work in progress while behind bars and chronicled some of the events that led to his imprisonment. It was released through Barnes and Nobles and Borders, among other stores, and has provided compelling insight into the culture of urban life and mores. Said Clayton, “It’s a responsible story with twists, turns, valleys and peaks and ultimately – redemption.”
For six years Clayton worked on the sequel, Center of Gravity, which is slated for release this September through his company, Amenta Publications.
Additionally, Clayton shared ownership of Brooklyn-based urban clothing line, Morerall, launched in 2012:
“Morerall encourages self-discipline by being a symbolic reminder that the true battle lies within. Not Since FUBU has there been an urban clothing brand with a message of discipline and hope for its community.” – Morerall.com.
One of the best ways to honor someone who has passed is to re-visit their life’s work. Completing Center of Gravity was a goal Clayton set many years ago and finally accomplished just a week shy of his death.
A Go Fund Me account was established to ensure that Clayton’s book is published in September as he intended.
A life cut short is tragic, but Clayton’s own words are an inspiring healer:
Death was a concept of the defeated and not the victorious. For the victorious, death was just the moment when the baton was passed to the next warrior, entrusted with the sacred duty to uphold the laws of identity and purpose.
-A. C. Clayton
While Clayton’s killer remains a mystery there’s no doubt that justice will prevail. Eventually.
On behalf of The Source Magazine, we would like to send our most sincerest condolences, and prayers to the Clayton family and friends.
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SALUTE TO A TRUE SOLJAH