Credit: (NJ Spotlight News)

Najee Seabrooks was always giving back to the city of Paterson. 

Seabrooks was more than just a mentor and high-risk interventionist at Paterson Healing Collective, his friends and colleagues say. When the organization would host an event, he’d bring his own clothes to hand out to people in need, they remembered. If there was leftover food, he’d give it to houseless people in the city. 

“If Najee was in an event or he walked past an event or we came across an event, and he’d seen a group of people in need or appeared to need something, he would automatically jump into humanitarian giving mode,” said Casey Melvin, director of field operations for Paterson Healing Collective. 

A basketball tournament was one of the ways Seabrooks wanted to uplift his city. He and other interventionists at Paterson Healing Collective had been talking about holding the event over the last year. Seabrooks loved sports, and it would be a way to build camaraderie and sportsmanship, said Melvin. 

Seabrooks was killed by Paterson police during a mental health crisis on March 3, and police barred his colleagues, who were trained to handle such situations, from helping. 

Now they see this basketball tournament as becoming a way to honor his legacy. The event is planned for Saturday, and Melvin said that holding the event helps transform sadness into happiness. 

“To see his work, to see his blessings being transformed and spread out to other individuals … in a gathering, camaraderie, sportsmanship way, to me is … heartwarming again,” Melvin said. 

‘The right time’ 

Although the event is happening a year after it was conceived, Melvin said it’s coming “at the right time” because May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  

“Sadly, he has brought a new light into how law enforcement and governmental agencies should respond to individuals who are in crisis. Hopefully, he is a trailblazer for new policy,” Melvin said. 

The manner of Seabrooks’ death was not a surprise to Paterson residents, who have long warned about their police department’s misconduct and brutality. 

As a result of Seabrooks’ killing and the department’s troubled history, the state attorney general’s office assumed control of the police department March 27. Attorney General Matt Platkin appointed a new officer-in-charge, Isa Abbassi from the New York City Police Department, to overhaul Paterson’s law enforcement and renew its relationship with the community. 

At a recent listening session Platkin hosted, residents shared stories of trauma caused by the police department — as well as their support for Seabrooks and his family. 

Every aspect of the tournament is planned to honor Seabrooks. The people playing on the basketball teams will be his family, people he grew up with, kids he mentored – everyone who meant something to Seabrooks. Six out of eight teams are named after something related to him, like Team B.Na, his nickname, or Team Seabrooks. 

“It’s deep. We’re more than family, so this is a family event too,” said Teddie Martinez, a hospital-based violence intervention coordinator for Paterson Healing Collective. 

Fundraising goals 

The organization hopes to raise $20,000 through the tournament for Seabrooks’ younger brother and his five-year-old daughter. Martinez, who was also a mentor to Seabrooks, said the event means many things to him. The organization wants to show the Seabrooks family that its members will always be there for them – and show the community that they are keeping his legacy alive. 

But they are also showing the community that they are still mourning and need their support, too, Martinez said. 

“The fundraiser is a part of our grief, too. A part of our grief process, a part of our healing process,” he said. 

‘If Najee was in an event or he walked past an event or we came across an event, and he’d seen a group of people in need or appeared to need something, he would automatically jump into humanitarian giving mode.’ — Casey Melvin, Paterson Healing Collective. 

And the community is showing up for them. When Paterson Healing Collective put out tickets for their basketball tournament on a Monday, 350 of the 500 tickets were sold within two days – a testament to Seabrooks’ legacy. They found out their location can hold 900 people, so more tickets will be sold at the door. 

“The community he served, the population that he has been serving for quite some time, now has the opportunity to pay homage and support something that was his passion,” Melvin said. 

For Martinez, the event is a way to bring the city together. It’s something, he says, that Seabrooks always wanted.  

“He’s probably up there saying, about time y’all did it!” Martinez laughed. 

More information on the event and its fundraiser can be found on Instagram and on GoFundMe.