A casket no bigger than a bassinet sat before the altar in the Holy City Church of God in Christ Friday, the same sanctuary where weeks earlier Kay'Anah Messiah Brayboy's spirited footsteps echoed through the cavernous hall.
The Rev. Kevin D. Ginyard can still recall Kay'Anah's head popping up above the pews, clapping her hands with the rest of the congregation.
"Kay Kay," as the toddler was known to family, friends and the congregation, loved church, Ginyard told hundreds of mourners who filled the sanctuary for her funeral.
"She was full of love, good and pure. She was happy," said Ginyard, asking those present to grieve with dignity and to seek justice, not vengeance.
The little girl was run down on a sidewalk outside a Connecticut Avenue, Bridgeport, CT market on the Fourth of July by a man police say admitted to drinking before getting into his car. "By all means, seek justice, true justice," he added, "but keep anger under control. We want the wheels of justice to turn for us."
Pointing to a spot below his pulpit where he said Kay Kay used to love to stand, Ginyard said it was important to celebrate the child's memory and be thankful "for the time we had her." He told the girl's family to remember the child was not in a box and won't be in the ground, but is with the Lord. Kay Kay's casket, small enough to be carried in the two hands of a single pallbearer, was adorned with heart-shaped bouquets.
Lamar Norris, an uncle, found it hard to deliver a eulogy. "That little girl was in my heart," he said. He also praised the strength of his sister and Kay Kay's mother, Tanequa Brayboy. Deborah H. Black Jefferson, a great-, great-aunt of the girl, called her death a tragedy. The Rev. Keith Nelson, a family friend, said incidents like Kay Kay's death put faith to the test. "We have to trust in God. We know she's in a better place," he said. Ginyard said Kay Kay began attending church with her family before she could walk. Once she learned, the vibrant child took over the whole church, he said.
The Rev. Kevin D. Ginyard can still recall Kay'Anah's head popping up above the pews, clapping her hands with the rest of the congregation.
"Kay Kay," as the toddler was known to family, friends and the congregation, loved church, Ginyard told hundreds of mourners who filled the sanctuary for her funeral.
"She was full of love, good and pure. She was happy," said Ginyard, asking those present to grieve with dignity and to seek justice, not vengeance.
The little girl was run down on a sidewalk outside a Connecticut Avenue, Bridgeport, CT market on the Fourth of July by a man police say admitted to drinking before getting into his car. "By all means, seek justice, true justice," he added, "but keep anger under control. We want the wheels of justice to turn for us."
Pointing to a spot below his pulpit where he said Kay Kay used to love to stand, Ginyard said it was important to celebrate the child's memory and be thankful "for the time we had her." He told the girl's family to remember the child was not in a box and won't be in the ground, but is with the Lord. Kay Kay's casket, small enough to be carried in the two hands of a single pallbearer, was adorned with heart-shaped bouquets.
Lamar Norris, an uncle, found it hard to deliver a eulogy. "That little girl was in my heart," he said. He also praised the strength of his sister and Kay Kay's mother, Tanequa Brayboy. Deborah H. Black Jefferson, a great-, great-aunt of the girl, called her death a tragedy. The Rev. Keith Nelson, a family friend, said incidents like Kay Kay's death put faith to the test. "We have to trust in God. We know she's in a better place," he said. Ginyard said Kay Kay began attending church with her family before she could walk. Once she learned, the vibrant child took over the whole church, he said.
A casket no bigger than a bassinet sat before the altar in the Holy City Church of God in Christ Friday, the same sanctuary where weeks earlier Kay'Anah Messiah Brayboy's spirited footsteps echoed through the cavernous hall.
The Rev. Kevin D. Ginyard can still recall Kay'Anah's head popping up above the pews, clapping her hands with the rest of the congregation.
"Kay Kay," as the toddler was known to family, friends and the congregation, loved church, Ginyard told hundreds of mourners who filled the sanctuary for her funeral.
"She was full of love, good and pure. She was happy," said Ginyard, asking those present to grieve with dignity and to seek justice, not vengeance.
The little girl was run down on a sidewalk outside a Connecticut Avenue, Bridgeport, CT market on the Fourth of July by a man police say admitted to drinking before getting into his car. "By all means, seek justice, true justice," he added, "but keep anger under control. We want the wheels of justice to turn for us."
Pointing to a spot below his pulpit where he said Kay Kay used to love to stand, Ginyard said it was important to celebrate the child's memory and be thankful "for the time we had her." He told the girl's family to remember the child was not in a box and won't be in the ground, but is with the Lord. Kay Kay's casket, small enough to be carried in the two hands of a single pallbearer, was adorned with heart-shaped bouquets.
Lamar Norris, an uncle, found it hard to deliver a eulogy. "That little girl was in my heart," he said. He also praised the strength of his sister and Kay Kay's mother, Tanequa Brayboy. Deborah H. Black Jefferson, a great-, great-aunt of the girl, called her death a tragedy. The Rev. Keith Nelson, a family friend, said incidents like Kay Kay's death put faith to the test. "We have to trust in God. We know she's in a better place," he said. Ginyard said Kay Kay began attending church with her family before she could walk. Once she learned, the vibrant child took over the whole church, he said.
The Rev. Kevin D. Ginyard can still recall Kay'Anah's head popping up above the pews, clapping her hands with the rest of the congregation.
"Kay Kay," as the toddler was known to family, friends and the congregation, loved church, Ginyard told hundreds of mourners who filled the sanctuary for her funeral.
"She was full of love, good and pure. She was happy," said Ginyard, asking those present to grieve with dignity and to seek justice, not vengeance.
The little girl was run down on a sidewalk outside a Connecticut Avenue, Bridgeport, CT market on the Fourth of July by a man police say admitted to drinking before getting into his car. "By all means, seek justice, true justice," he added, "but keep anger under control. We want the wheels of justice to turn for us."
Pointing to a spot below his pulpit where he said Kay Kay used to love to stand, Ginyard said it was important to celebrate the child's memory and be thankful "for the time we had her." He told the girl's family to remember the child was not in a box and won't be in the ground, but is with the Lord. Kay Kay's casket, small enough to be carried in the two hands of a single pallbearer, was adorned with heart-shaped bouquets.
Lamar Norris, an uncle, found it hard to deliver a eulogy. "That little girl was in my heart," he said. He also praised the strength of his sister and Kay Kay's mother, Tanequa Brayboy. Deborah H. Black Jefferson, a great-, great-aunt of the girl, called her death a tragedy. The Rev. Keith Nelson, a family friend, said incidents like Kay Kay's death put faith to the test. "We have to trust in God. We know she's in a better place," he said. Ginyard said Kay Kay began attending church with her family before she could walk. Once she learned, the vibrant child took over the whole church, he said.
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