On a powerful episode of Voices with Jawan Strader on NBC 6, host Jawan Strader facilitated a much-needed conversation about loss, legacy, and controversy. The episode featured Santonio Carter, the father of 6-year-old King Carter, who was tragically killed by a stray bullet in 2016, Tangela Sears, an activist and founder of Florida Parents of Murdered Children, and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon. The panel discussion addressed recent controversial comments made by Hardemon regarding the significance of honoring slain children with street namings during his appearance on Hy-Lo News’ Can We Talk Podcast in March.
Carter, whose son’s name graces a street in Miami-Dade County, was initially hurt and angered by Hardemon’s remarks.
“At first, I got infuriated being that I didn’t identify what was being said,” Carter said on the show. “But when I looked into the content, I reached out to him, and he reached back out to me and let me know how the context went.”
The commissioner’s comments sparked public outrage on social media, as many interpreted his statements as questioning the worthiness of honoring children like King Carter through memorial street dedications. Santonio explained that the language Hardemon used—particularly the use of the term “they”—caused confusion and emotional distress.
“The people who heard the comments took ‘they’ as the parents and as the kids,” he said. “That hit me, due to the emotional distress on something so close to my heart—my son.”
However, after speaking directly with Hardemon, Carter said he gained clarity. “There’s some truth into what he said,” Carter admitted. “February 16, 2016 my son was killed. February 2017, Bino was killed—a guy who cried with me. So a year after my son [was] killed, the community didn’t get better.”
He went on to reflect on the ongoing violence that has plagued the community. “Two Haitian kids drowned at the park right down the street. A kid was robbed on King Carter Street early in the morning going to school,” Carter recalled. “So I can understand what he said.”
Addressing the commissioner’s question about the true significance of memorial street namings, Carter offered a sobering perspective.
“Even to the point of, what’s the significance—not asking us or not saying what’s the significance of the child—but asking other people, like, what’s so important about this kid to you that you want to give them a street name? Are you doing it just for likes?”
Carter, representing the King Carter Foundation alongside his wife, emphasized the lack of engagement from community leaders since the street was named to honor his son, which echoed the criticism that Hardemon discussed in his Can We Talk Podcast interview. Hardemon shared during the podcast interview that past elected officials appeared to approve the slain children street namings for likes because their lack of support to actually change low income communities hasn’t happened yet.
Hardemon went on to explain during the podcast interview that the community he represents, which includes low income areas, needs and deserves more resources and funding from the government to bring them up to par with more affluent areas in Miami-Dade County. He questioned why some elected officials are OK with places like 18th Ave (the area that he proposed to have the streets renamed after Miami Hip-Hop and R&B stars to help drive economic development) looking the way it does currently with dilapidated buildings, vacant lots, and criminal activity.
On Voices, Santonio Carter shared similar views as the District 3 Commissioner.
“In my opinion, a lot of people did it just for likes, because we haven’t talked to a lot of people since the street naming– 95% of the people” he said.
This candid conversation on Voices with Jawan Strader gave viewers an intimate look into the pain of grieving parents, the complexity of community healing, and the importance of clear, compassionate communication from elected officials.
Watch our full interview with Commissioner Keon Hardemon that sparked the conversation for the Voices with Jawan Strader Episode.
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