Prayer vigil held for Emojah Mullings

Student holding a candle at the prayer vigil | Photo credit: Merlina Aventurin 

Students, family and friends gathered at the eternal flame on Friday, Dec. 1 to honor Mullings’ life and contributions to the campus community.

Emojah Mullings, a 19-year-old broadcast journalism student at Florida A&M University (FAMU), died on Mon. Nov. 27 from injuries sustained in a car accident on Sunday, Nov. 26 on I-10 in Suwanee County.

According to a statement released by FAMU, Mullings was one of four students traveling together in a car on I-10 on Sunday when the vehicle traveled off the roadway causing it to overturn and strike several stumps and a wire fence before coming to a stop. Mullings was ejected from the vehicle.

Two passengers who were in the car with Mullings have minor injuries and one was able to return to class.

 The FAMU community came together to remember the joy she brought to others and the lives that Mullings touched during her time on the hill.

In attendance to the prayer vigil was Mullings’s family, President Larry Robinson, faculty and a host of friends.

Natasha Bostick, Mullings’s mother, spoke at the vigil and emphasized her daughter's strong love for FAMU.

After she finished her first year she came back home and said, “I’m so happy that I chose FAMU”, said Bostick.

“She met so many great people and grew which is what happens when you go to college, but she was just so appreciative that it happened here at FAMU.”

The love that Mullings had for her family and the love that they had for her is helping the family to stay strong.

Family of Emojah Mullings speaking at the prayer vigil | Photo credit: Merlina Aventurin

As a family, we’re okay. We got to spend a lot of time with Emojah in that hospital,” said Bostick.

“That is why can be here today with our heads held high, because we loved her, she knew we loved her and she loved us.”

Many friends spoke about how Mullings touched their lives in such a short period of time of being at FAMU. Students and friends at the vigil said they plan to live their lives in a way that would honor Mullings’s memory.

Director of student lobbying for the Student Government Association and close friend of Mullings, Arriona Tindell, helped to organize much of the event.

“I’m super happy about the turn out, I put everything I had into this, it’s really all about her,” said Tindell.

“She was a ball of fire, anything she touched she ignited. She was the happiest person I’ve ever met in my life.”

SGA plans to honor Mullings in remembrance and to promote car safety through new legislation.

“SGA is going to write a resolution bill and new legislation in honor of her about car safety and the importance of seat belts,” said Tindell.

School of Journalism and Graphic Communication Interim Dean, Dhyana Ziegler said Mullings was a promising student within the school of journalism.

“Ms. Mullings was a very engaged student and very full of life. She was active in the student body in several organizations and displayed promise for success in the journalism industry,” said Ziegler.

Maurice Johnson, Professor in the school of Journalism, taught Mullings in his Mass Media Class and also noted her drive and vibrant soul that “lit up the room”.

Johnson plans to honor Mullings by encouraging his students to not take life for granted.

They’re individuals who aren’t here in any more that don’t have the opportunity to accomplish their dreams, so I’m going to encourage my students even more to put in 100 percent effort every day because tomorrow isn’t promised,” said Johnson.