A Tribute to My Sister Cheryl - The One Who Helped Shape My Ear, My Art, and My Faith

My sister Cheryl was one of the first people who ever showed me what beauty, courage, and faith could sound like. Long before I created The Quiet Cry Project, she was quietly shaping the artist in me.

She is the reason I learned to play the flute.

She is the reason I fell in love with Fred Hammond’s music; those songs that carried me through some of the hardest seasons of my life.

And she is one of the reasons I grew up believing that creativity and faith could live in the same room.

Cheryl carried a rare kind of strength. People felt it when she walked in; calm, prepared, confident, grounded in God. Even when she ran for mayor, her opponent later said she was the only person who ever intimidated him, not because she was loud, but because she walked with purpose.

When he asked her how she planned to win, she simply said:

“Hard work, a good plan; and God has already decided.”

That was my sister. Brave. Steady. Brilliant. Faith-filled.

Her life took her from Princeton to MTV, the NBA, her own company, financial advising, political organizing, ministry, and a major education leadership role. But her truest legacy lives in how she loved people; with sincerity, prayer, wisdom, and quiet power.

On November 18, 2025, she entered her eternal rest. My heart is still learning how to hold that truth.

But every time I write a new poem, every time new music rises in my spirit, every time faith and creativity meet in my work; I feel her fingerprints. I feel her encouragement. I feel her, my Mom, and my Dad guiding me forward.

Cheryl ran her race well. And the gifts she passed to me continue to live through every word and sound I create.