Goodnight Kwame Ola Rennie: We Love You

Goodnight Kwame Ola Rennie: We Love You

Kwame meaning (born on a Saturday) and Ola (meaning precious), he entered the world on Saturday, March 15, 1980 and was the only son of Yvette Rennie and Bernard Williams. He came into this world with a big heart to match the big destiny he came to fulfill.

He began to boldly walk into this humanitarian Destiny at the tender age of 8 yearsold. Keeping strid with the older men who were his teachers, mentors and role models, Kwame walked the streets of Brooklyn distributing flyers for Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign. The year was 1988, and the time of the major community redistricting in New York City. Once again, Kwame was in service to the community by working on those efforts. By 1990, he was a young “pro” and as part of the Voter Participation Project of Community Service Society, registered over 100 people to vote. That same year he could be seen distributing flyers at Get–Out-the Vote Rallies and also the Stand Up and Be Counted Census Rally. As a pre-teen, he worked on the historic campaign of Una Clarke who subsequently became the first Caribbean-American elected to the New York City Council. His leadership qualities being undeniable, Kwame emerged as a youth leader with the Summer Youth Program at the Crown Heights Youth Collective at the age of 14, and received a Certificate of Congressional Merit for his outstanding work.

Giving his life to service, Kwame worked for non-profit organizations like Common Ground, CCM and CAMBA where he met his mentor Shawn Young and he would say he forged his path as a great leader. As a Director of Operations at Park Slope Women’s Shelter he co-facilitated a group (Poetry Floetry) that was created to strength women and help them successfully transition into the community. His love for poetry ignited his connection to Crystal who shared in his passion for social and human services.

On November 4, 2009, Kwame and Crystal were blessed with a son, Khamari. Then later in July 2012, they were married and he took on the role as stepfather to her daughter Kamierah.

Striving for more, as he so loved to broaden his horizons, Kwame transitioned to Acacia Network, where he worked tirelessly to implement quality of care and wraparound services to the residents of Skyway Men’s Shelter. Speaking before community boards and political leaders, he dedicated his life to being an advocate for the homeless population. While he persevered through human service rights he was also a board member for J’Ouvert City International, where he assisted his mother with ensuring a safe and violence free celebration of West Indian culture year after year.

In October of 2015, his daughter Khaiya was born and he vowed to her that he would provide a beautiful and bright future for her and her siblings. By 2018, Kwame was promoted to Program Manager, where he was responsible for 7 shelters and thousands of homeless residents. Each of these shelters was staffed with supervisors, who previously trained under his leadership and who he believed in and promoted.

Kwame was a man of God, who believed in the empowerment of his people and the mindset that nothing was impossible. He had such a loving heart and an undying sense of humor. He saw the best and strived to bring out the best in everyone he encountered with the understanding that he must commit to service by any means necessary.

Although, we know that Kwame is in a better place, we also know that he will truly be missed. He leaves to mourn: His mother Yvette Rennie; his father Bernard Williams; his stepfather George Hunte; his grandmother Beryl Rennie; his wife Crystal Rennie; their children: Kamierah Crystal Ottley, Khamari Kenrick Terron Rennie and Khaiya Yvette Carolyn Rennie. He also leaves to mourn, his uncles: Winston, Bukka, Earle and Percival; his aunts: Carol, Marjorie and Merlin; his cousins: Aki, Safi, Kunle, Roli, Dedan, Osei, Kashta, Gyasi, Nataki, Nyela, Jasiri, Jendyi and Jhari; and his brothers-in-arms: Cliff, Kevin, Joel, Dwayne and Darren. We will love you forever Kwame. Rest in peace until we meet again.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.