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Javits Frimpong Death Sparks Debate Among Immigrant Parents On Bullying In US
The death of 15-year-old Ghanaian immigrant, Javits Frimpong, who was shot dead while walking to school in the Bronx, New York, has sparked emotional conversations among African immigrant parents in the United States over bullying and parenting.
Frimpong, who immigrated from Ghana a year ago to live with his father, was shot in the stomach around 9:25 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, near Crotona Park and later died at St. Barnabas Hospital. Police are searching for three teenage suspects. No arrests have been made.
His father, Thomas Frimpong, told reporters the school principal had informed him two days before the incident that two students who were bullying his son had been suspended.
Following the incident, a Nigerian immigrant mother in the US, Uchenna Nwanegbo, shared a viral reflection on Facebook titled “Immigrant Parents, Please Listen To Your Children.”
Nwanegbo recounted how her own son, now in college, broke down crying for Javits and reminded her of his own childhood bullying that she and her husband dismissed as stubbornness.
She said her son fought repeatedly after starting school in the US, refused to wear non-branded shoes, became obsessed with his haircut and hygiene, and always denied being bullied because he feared his parents would tell him to report to teachers, which he said made it worse.
“THAT CONVERSATION BROKE ME,” she wrote, noting that the fighting stopped only after they moved to a predominantly white neighborhood with a better school district.
Nwanegbo also echoed concerns raised by many immigrant children on TikTok about being called “African booty scratchers” by Black American students, urging immigrant parents to investigate appearance concerns, pay attention to school districts, listen without judging, and not punish before understanding.
The post has drawn wide reactions from immigrant families who say they see their own children’s silent struggles in Javits’ story.
