There’s no rest for the artistic. Not for a beloved poet like Kelly “Native Child” Mays.
“We’d always love for her to get on the microphone,” friend Rosemarie Wilson said. “Even if she wasn’t on the bill and just came to show love, she’d perform under protest.”
Wilson, who goes by the trademarked name “One Single Rose,” said Mays, regarded by friends as the “mother poet,” looked after her community of artists and advocates.
Now, that same community will look after her in an event celebrating the life and work of Mays, a domestic violence awareness advocate, who died Jan. 7.
Mays, 49, was fatally stabbed inside her Westland apartment. Her husband, hip-hop artist Jimmie Lee “Supa Emcee” Brown, is charged in her killing.
To commemorate their friend and fellow artist, Wilson and Claretha “Peace” Bell are hosting “Lyrics and Libations: A Tribute to Native Child” from 8-11 p.m. Wednesday at Vanguard Community Development, 2791 E. Grand Blvd.
Wednesday’s event will offer resources for people who are hurting and representatives of Detroit-based SASHA Center, an agency that helps support and educate sexual assault survivors, will be on-site, while a lineup of folks will pay tribute to Mays’ artistic work and advocacy via music, poetry and spoken words. Donations are welcome for the free gathering held weekly to support efforts against domestic violence.
“We’re just gonna get together and we’re gonna love on each other,” Wilson said.
Wilson, a poet, singer and author, first met Mays at a poetry open mic night more than a decade ago.
“I heard her, she was amazing, and her words were strong. She was just a beautiful spirit all-around,” said Wilson, an east side native. “She was kind of like the mother poet. Her spirit was very nurturing.”
Life without mom
Mays’ daughter, Celeste Mays, said she came home on Jan. 7 and quickly noticed that something felt off.
The mother of two didn’t call out “which child is that” and wasn’t in any of her usual spots downstairs. Celeste said she then walked down the hall and found her mother dead on the bedroom floor.
Westland police discovered wounds to Mays’ neck and chest. Brown, 46, later turned himself in. He is charged with first-degree murder and scheduled for a competency exam and criminal responsibility hearing in 18th District Court on March 28. Brown’s listed attorney, Gabi D. Silver, could not be reached for comment.
“I couldn’t eat or sleep for a few days afterwards. I kept seeing flashes of her, of me finding her,” Celeste said. “It took me a good week to not have those dreams.”
Celeste, who now lives with her grandmother in an apartment in Westland, said she’s slowly adjusting to life without her mom.
The pharmacy technician said she leaned into math and science growing up, but always enjoyed watching her mom express her creativity. When she was young, Celeste said she would accompany her mother to talent shows and poetry slams.
Kelly Mays’ love for her children was reflected in a piece titled, “Letter to My Daughters,” with an accompanying video of a young Celeste walking and Kelly enveloping her in a hug.
Celeste said her mother enjoyed gathering with family at their favorite Mexican restaurants, such as Los Amigos near Westland Shopping Center and she was a loyal fan of Marvel movies and TV shows like household staples, “The Golden Girls” and “Judge Judy.”
Brown entered the picture when Celeste was a teenager, eventually marrying Kelly in 2015. Celeste felt strange sharing her mom with a new boyfriend at first, but said Brown became a part of the family and the pair built a father-daughter bond.
“He showed up to my prom, my birthday parties,” she said. “Both of my graduations, college and high school. I’ll call him and he’ll be there.”
Now that bond is broken, said Celeste, who last saw Brown via Zoom last week during his probable cause conference.
“Sometimes it feels weird because I’m expecting myself to go back home, but I can’t go back,” she said. “I don’t have a home anymore.”
A tribute to a dear friend
Bell, 50, said she’s trying to get through the days without her best friend. The Detroit resident met Mays about 15 years ago at a poetry slam competition.
“We were both heavy into slam competitions and that’s how our relationship grew,” Bell said. “We ended up on teams together, we ended up traveling together.”
The two competed across the country in places like Atlanta and Denver. During one trip in Kentucky, Bell and Mays went to breakfast and spent the day together away from the rest of their team.
“It seemed like we spent forever in this restaurant, just laughing,” Bell recalled. “We were able to just kick it as sisters. When we left out of there, our cheeks were hurting. We had the greatest time.”
Bell last talked to her friend Dec. 28. Mays was calling and sending Bell social media messages to recruit her to help with a suicide prevention training program through Mays’ job with the mental health provider Hegira Health.
Kalimah Johnson, founder of the SASHA Center, said she encountered Mays at poetry and advocacy circles in and around Detroit.
Johnson, also a poet, activist, author and hip-hop artist, said she did not know Mays well but recognized how passionate she was about her advocacy work and her craft.
“She was able to captivate and capture the essence of the pain that some Black women go through, and still have people feel inspired by her words,” Johnson said. “The last time I saw her, she was full of joy.”
Bell added that Mays was giving and loving and always gave herself to others.
“She just always opened up and tried to fill in those blanks, if you will,” Bell said. “If you had any concerns or issues, she was that type of friend that always wanted to find the solution or be the solution.”
Bell said Mays’ mental health and domestic violence awareness work will be the focus of Wednesday’s event.
“That was her life’s work,” Bell added. “It only seems right that we bring together this tribute in her honor and bring the community, bring the artists that loved her.”
Remembering her legacy
Celeste Mays said she’s on work leave and temporarily paused her radiology program at Dorsey College as she tries to come to terms with a life without her mother.
She said her mother was a die-hard Detroit Lions fan, introducing her daughters, 27 and 14, to football early in their lives.
Celeste reflected on watching the team battle the Green Bay Packers last Thanksgiving at the family’s Westland apartment. Despite the Lions’ 29-22 loss, the day stayed sweet because Mays taught her daughters how to make one of her favorite desserts – sweet potato pie.
Celeste said she wants to eventually go back to school and graduate in honor of her mother. She also plans to take a trip to Universal Studios in Florida in celebration of what would’ve been her mom’s 50th birthday this November and to bring along Mays’ ashes so they can honor her there.
Celeste also plans to attend Wednesday’s event.
“She was always strong, always there for us,” Celeste said. “More than anything, she was protective of us. Everything she did, she did for us.”
Editor’s note: Julie Walker formerly worked with Mays and Brown for a years-long project about Detroit hip-hop.