Hundreds of people from across Philadelphia came together Saturday morning for the funeral of Kada Scott, the 23-year-old woman who, police said, was killed last month.
The memorial service, which was held at Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, included speeches from Mayor Cherelle Parker and other state and local leaders.
Parker recalled meeting Scott after she competed in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant.
“She walked up to me, and she said, ‘Hello, Madame Mayor! My name is Kada Scott,’ and she looked me in my eyes,” Parker said.
Parker said she was impressed by how quickly Scott followed up with her office about their discussion.
“That’s a sense of ‘somebodyness,” Parker said. “You gain a sense of ‘somebodyness’ by being a product of a village that sees something in you.”
Scott was just months away from graduating from Penn State, her mother’s alma mater.
Her creative passions included fashion and design, which she shared across social media.
Minister Jana Allen proudly served as one of Scott’s “Penn State Aunties,” a group of women who went to college with Scott’s mother and mentored Scott over the years.
“I could even think about when Kada had bright eyes, and she would just come into a room,” Allen said. “So observant, just looking around, very quiet and soft-spoken.”
Philadelphia Police said Scott was killed on October 4 shortly after she left her job early at an assisted living facility in Chestnut Hill.
Investigators found her body two weeks later at the vacant Ada H.H. Lewis Middle School in East Germantown.
“Violence tried to silence her song, but love doesn’t end that way,” Allen said. “Even when a candle is blown out, its warmth lingers in the room.”
She and many others hope the light from Scott’s legacy will illuminate the ongoing problem of violence against Black women and girls.
Pennsylvania Representative Andre Carroll announced at the service that he planned to introduce legislation in Scott’s name in the coming months.
The Mayor also announced the city will start a local government internship in Scott’s name.
Allen predicted Scott’s legacy will live on well into the future.
“Her light will shine in our communities as we stand up to protect our children and the ones we love,” Allen said. “Her light will shine in the courtroom when justice serves as the inevitable answer to evil.”
The man accused of killing Scott, Keon King, is scheduled to be back in court Monday. He remains in jail without bail.
Investigators said they’re looking for at least two other accomplices.
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