His murder remains unsolved. But friends and family are building a legacy of positivity for Shyheem Robinson.

Charrise Watford wasn’t able to see her youngest son, Shyheem Robinson, play high school basketball until his senior night in 2017. Normally, as the shortest player on the team at Cristo Rey Philadelphia, Robinson came off the bench as a role player. But that night, he was a star.

“He really soared that day,” said Watford, who was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She remembers watching her son make all of his shots; she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “People were just jumping up and hollering and screaming and I’m sitting there like, ‘all of this is for my baby.’”

It is a happy memory of her son, with whom she shares a June 13 birthday. But now, her memories of Robinson’s love for basketball, and his talent for making anyone around him laugh, sit between feelings of grief and devastation.

On Oct. 2, 2020, Robinson, 21, was found shot in a car in Mount Airy and died at a hospital. His slaying remains unsolved, and his loved ones are still searching for answers as to how and why it happened.

“When you lose a child, the only way I can describe it is there’s this feeling in your stomach of something [being] just ripped out,” Watford said. “It’s an ache that you feel.”

In their grief, Robinson’s family, friends and school have started a scholarship in his memory. First awarded last year, the scholarship is intended for a Cristo Rey graduating senior who is attending college and played a sport in high school, like Robinson. The scholarship pays out a total of $4,500 over the course of the student’s four years in college, intended to cover the average estimated costs that Cristo Rey students pay out-of-pocket after receiving financial aid.

“Shyheem had an infectious personality and was beloved by our school community. To have his life cut short in the way that it was meant we had to work together to find a way to honor who he was to so many,” said Rich Pugh, the founding campus minister and director of student life at Cristo Rey, by email. “To do this in Shyheem’s memory is powerful, because he was on a similar journey to so many of our students.”

Cristo Rey Philadelphia is a private, Catholic high school designed for low-income families. Philadelphia’s school is in the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, but is one of 38 schools in a national network. The school’s more than 12,000 students nationwide are enrolled in a work-study program with local businesses and institutions such as Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office helping to offset the cost of their attendance.

“His name will live on in positivity if I have anything to say about that.”

Rishaun Hall, a family friend who called Robinson his little brother, decided he could not idle as he processed his grief. Hall is just a year older than Robinson and was a member of Cristo Rey’s founding class in 2012. Even after they graduated, Robinson and Hall were both proud alumni, always happy to represent their school and stay connected to it. Hall decided he would work to establish a scholarship in Robinson’s memory.

“It bothers me that we may or may not ever get justice for Shyheem, and I really just don’t always know when I close my eyes at night if that will ever happen,” said Hall, who serves on Cristo Rey’s National Leadership Council and Workforce Development Committee.

“But I do know that his name will live on in positivity if I have anything to say about that.”

When Robinson was killed, he was still figuring out who he was and what he wanted to do with his life. He was interested in owning his own business one day and had built a following as a rapper under the name West Philly Heem.

He never had the time to find his niche, but his spirit was clear to those who loved him. “He was a short guy, but [with] his energy you would think he was like 7 feet tall,” Hall said. “He was always that bright spot.”

They hope that the scholarship can be just one way for people to remember him. “He was a good person. He cared,” Watford said. After Robinson was killed, she saw a video for the first time of her son giving away bags of his clothing to people living on the street.

“He had a heart that he would do anything for anybody,” she said.

Hall took the lead on petitioning Cristo Rey administration to create the scholarship, but waited until he was more certain that it would be approved before he presented the idea to Watford. She loved the idea, and was excited that there would not be strict GPA requirements, so anyone would be eligible.

“Let’s let the little man have a chance,” she said, referencing both her son’s height and the scholarship in his name. “Sometimes the students with the 2.5 don’t really get acknowledged as much. I don’t want somebody with a 4.0. They’re going to get scholarships.”

Watford stayed involved as they built out the application questions last year, and voiced her opinions on applicants. The first Shyheem Robinson Scholarship was awarded to Josh Wyche, who became Cristo Rey Philadelphia’s first Division 1 athlete when he committed to play basketball at Lafayette College. Watford was thrilled that Wyche won, and followed him on social media to watch him move on through life.

Currently, Cristo Rey is seeking donations for continued funding of the Shyheem Robinson Scholarship on its website, cristoreyphiladelphia.org. The application period will open after the new year, and Hall will visit Cristo Rey students to share information and encourage them to apply before the scholarship is eventually awarded in the spring. The scholarship is still in a pilot phase and is being awarded to only one student, but Hall hopes that it will be expanded to support multiple winners.