At the young age of 14, Claudia Quaatey took her first entrepreneurial steps by starting a hair braiding business from the comfort of her New York home, an initiative she hoped would support her journey through nursing school.
“Claudia had a road map for her life,” shared her mother, Marian Abbey, “Among all her siblings, she stood out for her foresight.”
Despite her tender years, Claudia demonstrated a deep commitment to her future. Her home in Jamaica, Queens, was suitably remodeled into a hair braiding studio, built to accommodate an increasing roll call of clients captivated by her skillful work. She was so immersed in her burgeoning business that her parents had to intervene occasionally, ensuring school priorities were maintained.
While still in sophomore year of high school, Claudia had begun financial planning to buy a car, her eyes fixed on a move to Washington, DC. She had ambitions of attending Howard University, a revered historically Black institution.
“If I were to redefine Claudia, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Abbey said, “Though she had her flaws, they were the nuances that I had prayed for.”
Sadly, Claudia’s dreams of attending Howard University, becoming a nurse, buying a car, and using her success to support her parents’ home country, Ghana, were abruptly extinguished. On the night of May 10, at 16 years of age, she was shot in Queens’ St. Albans suburb.
Claudia was just another gleam in a sorrowful spectrum of young lives lost to deplorable gun violence in the United States, which remains an unmitigated scourge. The Gun Violence Archive reports that more than 1,300 children and teenagers fell victim to firearm fatalities in 2023 alone, with guns becoming the leading cause of children’s deaths in the country in 2020.
Her parents, born and bred in Ghana, had raised Claudia with kindness, empathy, and a deep-rooted love for her native African homeland. She made frequent trips to Ghana, where she was known for her generous donations and ardent support for the local children.
Even her best friend, Keon Anderson, attested to Claudia’s influence and caring nature. “She kept me in line with school, took away my phone, and told me to focus on the work at hand,” Keon admitted.
Keon treasures a small memorial at home, a shrine flanking Claudia’s smiling picture, a white candle, and a crystalline angel embracing an indigo rose. A heart-shaped glass sculpture serves as an enduring reminder:
“Those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day.”
The sad news of Claudia’s demise shocked Keon like nothing before. “It seemed unreal,” he said, lost in the disbelief marked by her sudden absence.
Despite the irreplaceable loss, Claudia’s life stands as a testament to her vibrant spirit, tenacity, and unfaltering direction. Known for her wit and humor, she will be remembered for her unwavering focus and commitment to the cause she believed in. “She was a caregiver, her heart was in service to others,” shared Anderson, “Above all, Claudia loved helping people.”
With the void left by Claudia’s loss never to be filled, her family and friends find solace in the hopes of justice, the prospect of which might close this tragic chapter of their lives. “Claudia’s soul will only rest when everyone must answer,” her mother reflects, hoping for justice for her beloved daughter.
