Funeral for Harlem grandmother killed by stray bullet held Friday
There was an emotional goodbye Friday for a beloved Harlem grandmother killed by a stray bullet.
Excenia Foote Mette, 61, better known as Mama Zee, was remembered at a funeral at A.M.E. Zion Church.
Family and friends, tearfully holding one another, were in attendance.
Mama Zee remembered as "the mother of the community"
"Zee was the mother of the community in Harlem," one friend said.
"Her smile could turn darkness into light," her grandson Jarian Jordan, Jr. said.
Zee was cooking dinner in her apartment on Lenox Avenue and 113th Street last week when her grandson says she heard gunshots and went outside to check on him. A bullet struck her in the head, killing her.
"It wasn't just about her grandson. She was running to protect all of the children that she knew out here," her sister Diane London said.
"She was a woman that didn't stand by and see something and not say something. She came down because she was a community leader," said Stephanie McGraw, founder of We All Really Matter.
"She was my advocate, and not just me - for everyone in this room," Jordan said.
Her bravery and selflessness came as no surprise to those who knew her.
"Even in her final moments, she was doing what came to her naturally - putting others first, protecting those she loved," City Councilmember Yusef Salaam said.
"We're also here to denounce what took her life"
Zee, known as a staple in Harlem, is remembered for always cooking for and helping kids in the neighborhood. During the pandemic, CBS News New York profiled her deli, which opened as the only Black woman-owned bodega in New York City.
A longtime member of the National Action Network, Zee dedicated her life to community.
"So we're here to celebrate her life, but we're also here to denounce what took her life," Rev. Al Sharpton said.
A 23-year-old was arrested in her killing. Another 23-year-old Bronx man was arrested Monday and faces second degree murder charges.
"The system of recidivism, the individuals involved in this shooting. One of them stabbed two people in Harlem just this year," Mayor Eric Adams said.
While shootings this year are down across the city 13.4%, and in her precinct by 60%, that's little comfort to the grieving.
"It's just painful to continue to come to these for things that are so preventable," Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
Mama Zee leaves behind a son, three grandchildren and an immeasurable legacy.
"She was just a pure gift from God," her friend Jaclyn Webb said.
