The Black Student Union (BSU) hosted the Danroy “DJ” Henry Jr. Memorial event the night of Thursday, Oct. 15 in remembrance of the fifth anniversary of DJ Henry’s death.

The event began on Miller Lawn, where participants were given white paper lamps to hold, while members of BSU held balloons in the shape of DJ Henry’s jersey number, 12.

Participants, led by DJ Henry’s parents Dan Henry and Angela Henry, walked toward Goldstein Fitness Center.

Once the group reached the fitness center, those who were close to Henry spoke about their experiences with him. Director of Multicultural Affairs and DJ Henry’s former football coach Cornell Craig led the speeches.

“I had a wonderful opportunity to get to know DJ. He wanted to be wide receiver, but we needed him at quarterback. We needed an athlete of his stature on a team that needed a lot of help. He was selfless, he would come to me all the time to say he was ready to play receiver,” Craig said. “But he still went on and played quarterback, a position that he didn’t necessarily want to play, but he did it in sacrifice for the team, and that message of appreciation and selflessness is something to carry forward.”

Former president of student government and Assistant Director of Community Development Vincent Birkenmeyer followed Craig.

“What we must remember from this tragedy is that it should not take the death of a young man to show flaws in a justice system. It should not take a tragedy to encourage us to say hello to a stranger that seems like they’re having a rough day, and it should not take pain to remind us that there are so many people right around that can help us when we need,” Birkenmeyer said. “But I also hope we can learn tonight, learn of advocacy and remembrance from BSU, we can learn about the expectation of justice and love from Mr. and Mrs. Henry, and we learn from each other, that we are here through the good times, and the bad.”

Associate Vice President and Dean for Students Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo then spoke about her experience constructing the DJ Henry Memorial clock tower.

“[Constructing the clock] was a community event, some of us in the room gave money, and the president matched some of that money as well. Throughout this hard ship, I was just so inspired by how they wanted to be partners with us, and how we could make it right for our community here, and remember DJ,” Moscaritolo said.

Moscaritolo then invited DJ Henry’s parents to speak. Dan Henry spoke about how DJ Henry was “planting seeds”, or making a difference in the lives of people wherever he went. He recalled that his son would always ask for new wide receiver gloves because they would “wear out”; he later found out that he had actually been giving the gloves away to those who didn’t have them.

“Those seeds are now baring great fruit, in the lives here and beyond the [Pace] community. We started the DJ Dream Fund because we wanted to continue that legacy for him. [DJ] really founded the DJ Dream Fund, we just gave it a name and gave it a voice,” Dan Henry said.

Angela Henry emotionally expressed her gratitude towards the community.

“I am truly grateful that you guys haven’t forgotten about DJ. You made it possible to share [DJ] with people who might not have had the opportunity to meet him. The DJ Dream Fund lives because DJ lived,” Angela Henry said.

Henry’s former teammate, who played with him from 2009 – 2011, Byron Reid, recalled his experiences with Henry. He told stories about how Henry always checked up on his teammates, how he once did three trips to Paulie’s [a bar in Plesantville] to make sure the entire football team could party, and a time that he gave Mohawks to the entire football team.

“The number 12 symbolizes time, you can’t get back time. [DJ] was such a selfless person, he would give the last of his gas.” Reid said. “Every day that you’re going through, just think about being a better person.”

After the speeches were over, the group moved to the DJ Henry Clock Tower. The balloons were then released into the air.

Commemorative items where given out, including t-shirts, wristbands, tribute CDs made by WPAW, and buttons. All profits were donated to the DJ Dream Fund.

DJ Henry’s parents were happy at the turn out, and felt that it is proof that DJ Henry still lives on.

“It really makes us proud of the Pace community that [they still remember him]. That’s what he would want the most, to find out that he’s still impacting people’s lives,” Dan Henry said.