In the nearly 2 1/2 years since the disappearance and death of 2014 Danville High School graduate Jelani Day his mother Carmen Bolden Day has been on a mission: to bring resources to the families of missing minorities. Day was starting a graduate program at Illinois State University when he disappeared in August of 2021. A body was found up in Peru along the Illinois River on September 4th, and later identified as Jelani Day on September 23rd.
Carmen Bolden Day recently appeared with Tommy B on D102’s The Big Show, saying that the upcoming Second Annual All White Remembrance Dinner for The Jelani Day Foundation will allow the funds to be raised to keep her mission going.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: (To) provide assistance, resources to families. I would not want anybody to go through what I went through. I want to give them just what I have; the things I’ve learned along this journey, the assistance and the resources that I can provide for them to help them. That’s what the foundation is based on.
The fundraising dinner will be held Saturday, February 3rd, at the ISU Bone Student Center in Normal. Jelani’s mom says this will be an entertaining event, but also an event with very important information on raising awareness about missing minorities.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: I always said that Jelani had a purpose in his life. He was going to school to be a speech pathologist. And he was in his masters program, and it was something that he was looking forward to. So, in his absence, I am going to be that voice to fulfill the purpose in his life.
There will be some special guests at this event, including a legislator who helped with what became a state law at the start of 2023. If a body is found in Illinois, and not identified within 72 hours, the FBI must be notified.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: As of January 1st of 2023 there was a bill passed in Jelani’s name. It’s the Jelani Day Bill. There will be Representative Kam Buckner, who will be there to discuss that. This (February 3rd) is also National Person’s Day.
Tickets are $50, $25 for students with ID, and tables are available for sponsorship as well. Just go to TheJelaniDayFoundation.org. You can also go to the foundation’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
Carmen Bolden Day mentioned that Jelani was encouraged to be a speech pathologist after often sticking up for a friend with a speech impediment when he was younger. She also mentioned that the reason this event is a formal “all white remembrance dinner” is because Jelani Day had asked his mom for an all white formal event for his 26th birthday. Jelani’s mom says she’s hoping to some day turn The Jelani Day Foundation into “the biggest resource for missing persons in the state of Illinois.”
To hear all of Tommy B’s interview with Carmen Bolden Day, please go to https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/big-show-bites-podcast/
