Dontravious Ja-von Bolden
Age 17
Fort Pierce, Florida
Secret artist, hid drawings and songs
His sister Liyah found the notebooks under a rock in the backyard.
Liyah had known he wrote rap lyrics in the notes app on his phone. But these songs in the notebook? “He hid [them] from everyone,” his friend Tatiyana said. This wasn’t music from the “loud,” “goofy” boy family members remembered at his vigil. This was mature music from the boy who secretly loved to draw, who took the time to sing even the slow songs on the radio.
On Dec. 17, 2018, Dontravious Ja-von Bolden, 17, was shot and killed, allegedly by a former friend, in front of Friendly Meat and Grocery, his favorite store, in Fort Pierce, Florida.
