Whitehaven community activist identified as victim in Raleigh shooting

Community activist and former Commercial Appeal editor Yvonne D. Nelson was shot and killed this past weekend in Raleigh. She was 60 years old.

A spokesperson for the Memphis Police Department could not confirm the circumstances surrounding the Saturday shooting, but was told by witnesses that the suspect "fled the scene in a newer model black Infiniti sedan." Community members believe Nelson may have been a victim of a carjacking, as she owned a new black Infiniti, although MPD has not confirmed or denied the theories.

Iman Zenoria Mason, Yvonne Nelson's daughter, said that her mother's Infiniti was stolen in July.

"My mom (Yvonne Nelson) was driving a Jeep rental car at the time that this happened. So we didn't even know that an Infinity was involved in this when I first spoke with the detectives," Zenoria Mason said. "I don't know if she thought that was her car, or she knew that was her car, and she tried to approach them by herself. We have no contacts at this point. The visibility in that parking lot was very limited, the cameras were limited."

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After moving to Memphis about 40 years ago, Nelson served the city in a number of capacities, most notably as an educator at the Memphis City Schools, Bethel University of Tennessee, and LeMoyne-Owen College as well as a fierce advocate for Whitehaven.

Nelson grew up poor in Milwaukee, but moved in Memphis in the' 80s with her son. Mason was born and raised in Memphis, and said her mother embodied selflessness, even in the most strenuous financial situations.

"My mom taught me that it doesn't cost anything to care about the next person," Zenoria Nelson said. "You don't have to have money to be selfless. You just have to care. You can do things for your community, and if you don't do them, maybe no one will do them or care to do them."

She said her mother gave voices to those who didn't have a platform, and was a staunch community advocate.

"I guess, living as her child, I never necessarily understood the impact of it the way that I do now," Mason said. "The things that she tried to do and the things that she tackled, or things that she tried to protect the community from...she just always taught us to do more with less."

Nelson fell ill in October 2021, and was told she was not going to survive the sickness, her daughter said. But, after spending nine months in a nursing home, she began to recover. She was released from the nursing home in June.

"She, somehow, magically got better," Mason said. "I don't think she ever would have imagined herself going out like this. But the one thing that she would say about any incident is that she would have encouraged people to talk. Not saying anything, and just keeping the information to yourself, no matter how little it is — you never know how much I could help somebody find closure or resolve something. She would just want people to speak up."

At The Commercial Appeal, she worked as a research and community editor of the Whitehaven Appeal section of the newspaper for more than five years. She also served as the volunteer president of the McCorkle Road Neighborhood Development Association.

Otis Sanford, who was a managing editor at the time Nelson worked at The Commercial Appeal, remembers her tenacity as editor of The Whitehaven Appeal.

"She embraced the effort because she wanted to highlight positive things about Whitehaven instead of focusing on problems or focusing on crime. She embraced that very well," said Sanford, a professor in the University of Memphis Department of Journalism.

She saw the most prominent issues Memphians faced were remediating blight, illegal dumping, voting rights, and ensuring businesses were serving the needs of the community.

Jason Sherif, executive director of RESPECT The Haven, said Nelson has served as a mentor for him over the last few months.

"Keep the community foremost in your mind, continue to fight for Whitehaven, be a voice for way and just continue to live the legacy of the elders," Sherif recalls the lessons Nelson has imparted on him. "This is a tremendous loss to the Whitehaven and Memphis community."

Michael Harris, executive director of the Memphis Blight Authority, was a close associate of Nelson's. GWERC, RESPECT the Haven Community Development Corporation, and other community organizations honored Nelson at a community clean-up for her work as a "humanitarian and community advocate whose philosophy and mission is committed to challenging racial, economic and environmental injustice."

"She was always fighting for the sake of right," Harris said. Nelson was vocal about illegal dumping, "She was just a very vocal advocate for people, and I'm blessed to have been able to have known her and to call her friend."

Nelson worked with a number of Memphis-based non-profits and government organizations including the Lupus Foundation, YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South, the U.S. Census Bureau, Shelby County Sheriff's Office Training Academy, Memphis City Beautiful Commission, and Memphis Public Libraries.

She was a certified non-profit consultant and author of "Youthful Voices: An Exploratory Case study of Successful Youth Intervention and Development Programs."

She founded the Developmental Intervention Model for the Assessment of Neighborhood Systems (DI'MANS) which sought to provide behavioral and economic resources for youth.

Community activist Hazel Moore, informally known as "the mayor of Whitehaven," saw herself as a mentor to Nelson. She referenced the death of Rev. Autura Eason-Williams as another example of community leaders falling victim to gun violence.

"People in the communities never felt like things of this nature would ever be happening to a person in Whitehaven, especially people like these two people that really love their neighborhood," Moore said. "It's just very upsetting to the community."

She hopes that people will come together to find solutions to put end violence in the city.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen denounced the violence Tuesday morning, pointing to Eason-Williams' and Nelson's death as something that cannot become a daily occurrence.

"This must stop. We just lost two of our community leaders in Whitehaven," the congressman said in an emailed statement. "These shootings seem like regular, every-day occurrences. But they can't be. It's a danger to every Memphian and a danger to Memphis as a city. I will continue to fight for gun safety legislation at the federal level and join all of the local officials in making a commitment to support more funding and support to stop the killing. My thoughts go out to the victims' families and loved ones."

In May, Nelson was recognized by the state of Tennessee for her humanitarian work which "epitomizes the spirit and commitment that are characteristic of a true Tennessean."

Astrid Kayembe covers South Memphis, Whitehaven, and Westwood. She can be reached at astrid.kayembe@commercialappeal.com, (901) 304-7929 or on Twitter @astridkayembe_.

Lucas Finton is a breaking news reporter for the Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at lucas.finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Yvonne Nelson identified as victim in weekend Raleigh shooting