19 year old Rodrick Buckworth stopped the violence literally when a gunman broke in and he saved his mom.
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Rodrick Buckworth, a young Delaware rapper with a dream has become a champion for stop the violence initiatives. A few years ago, as the Director of Artist Development for Delaware Teen Idol, I had the opportunity to meet Rodrick and his mom and was honored to connect with them later for some other programs.
Last week, Rodrick became an unlikely victim and quite literally stopped the violence. He and his mother were at home hanging out together and a lone gunman broke in leaving him to narrowly escape with his own life. This distraught neighbor Jason Brunson, who was a military veteran, had what appeared to be some sort of mental crisis and literally lost it spraying bullets for what seemed to be no real reason at all. Rodrick nor his mother, had any relationship with this man who subsequently took his own life.
Buckworth aka El-Rod, who has performed at numerous venues in the northeast spreading positive messages, sprang into action and saved both his life and that of his mother. In the face of what could have turned fatal he used his own body to get in front of his mom, pushed a dresser in front of a door and did what he could to avoid the bullets. Unfortunately, both he and his mother suffered bullet wounds but because of his heroism they are on the road to recovery.
At 19, we don’t often see such heroism in the news especially when it comes to African American males, but instead we see stories of young people doing negative things. The young people who are the “do-gooders” of the world end up in the background as if the extra steps they took to do the right thing aren’t as noteworthy as those of people who have done wrong. This story, however, is one that struck a chord with me because I know the genuineness of this young man and his awesome mother. He is not the stereotypical angry rapper portrayed on television and she is not the stereotypical single mom. The Buckworths have shown us that all the studies in the world can’t measure the intensity of love and need to protect that a son can have for his mother in the face of crisis. Nor can they show the passion for success and educational achievement a mom can have for her son. Moms and sons have often been thought of as having a close relationship but these two are second to none. Some things metrics can’t account for and you couldn’t ask for a more focused kid who just wants to do the right thing to the best of his ability, but somehow the evil of today’s world found him anyway.
Many young people could learn a lot from this young man and the message he spreads. Instead of just spitting lyrics he can honestly say he lives them. As a young child, Rodrick had his own tragedy in losing a cousin to a very violent situation and decided early he wanted to help stop the violence. There are a million negative things he could be rapping about or doing with his time; but, instead he chooses to attend college, help others, volunteer his time and make a difference in the world.
As for Rodrick’s mom, she has done an astounding job raising him. Patricia Buckworth and I have spoken about both of our sons a couple of times over the years. She has always been one of the most supportive mothers I know, shuttling her son to and from events to help him spread good messages. Her son has been her inspiration over the years and whether she told you or not, you could always see it in her eyes. My fondest memory was a conversation we had about her making sure to check what he was rapping about so he stayed on the right road – spoken like a stop the violence mom.
The wounds suffered by Rodrick and his mom are enough to scare all of us into thinking about the fragility of life. One of the bullets was reported to be one centimeter away from a major artery in Rodrick’s neck. In true Rodrick fashion, that didn’t stop him from wanting to get ready for the Delaware Teen Idol 10 Year Anniversary Reunion Finals according to Frank Hawkins, Education Director of AIDS Delaware the organization behind the annual event for teens to be in the spotlight for the right reasons.
As El-Rod continues his journey, we all should be challenged to find at least one youth doing the right thing and celebrate them for their daily heroism. The world for young people today is not as easy to navigate as days of old and when they do the right thing it leaves room for hope that there is still good in the world. To you Rodrick and Patricia, you will remain in my thoughts and we all applaud you both for the lessons learned by through your journey.
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