Family says slain East St. Louis businessman poured his soul into his community
Family members of a local businessman who was gunned down last month at a convenience market he just opened to help the community say they want justice.
When East St. Louis Police were dispatched to 39th Street and Waverly Avenue on Sept. 28 to investigate reports that two people were shot, they found Kenneth R. Brown on the ground at Upsurge, the store he had recently established.
Brown, a 36-year old East St. Louis resident, was taken by ambulance to St. Louis University Hospital, where he later died.
A second man was shot but his name has not been released by police. His medical condition was not available.
Also, police have not said whether the second man provided information on his recollection of the shooting or whether he knew anything about the shooter. Police are only saying the case is open and they are tracking leads.
No arrests have been in Brown’s death. His funeral was Friday.
Brown’s family is hopeful police will find and arrest whoever is responsible for their loved one’s murder. They say their family is torn apart because of it.
Brown’s mother and two sisters said he was a community angel. Wherever he saw a need for help, he was there to provide it.
Opens store and restaurant
Brown, who was known as “PJ,” saw there wasn’t a community grocery store for the residents who don’t have transportation so he opened Upsurge.
“He wanted to give back to the community where he grew up,” his sister, Kiyara Conrad said. “And, he was doing that. He opened a restaurant called Tiny’s Place, located at 1818 St. Louis Ave., in East St. Louis. He named that restaurant after the grandmother who loved him dearly and who he also adored.”
The restaurant opened in May.
Some family members said Brown was like Nipsey Hussle, a rapper who turned his life around and started a business in the community where he was raised in Los Angeles. Hussle was shot and killed at his store in 2019.
Brown also had a home improvement business that he named K& B Improvements. He was also into real estate and had a lot of rental properties as well, Conrad said.
“He was the rock of our family,” said Chauneek Fowler, another sister of Brown’s.
“He was very big in family. He always had big dreams. He was a hard worker. He did a lot for people in the community. He did a lot for the elderly, cut their grass, provided them with food baskets. He also ran for the City Council. He had a lot of love from a lot of people. He was well known, always happy motivating, inspiring, and was a great, great father to his six children who he loved dearly,” Fowler said.
“He was also a nephew. He loved on his nieces and nephews like they were his own,” she said.
Family member said Brown always had a big smile and was always laughing. When he came into a room, his spirit touched everybody.
She wants justice for her brother.
“They took a great person. Oh, my God, he touched a lot of people. Now the community is without the angel that was helping them,” she said.
Desire to help his community and family
Conrad doesn’t know what she is going to do to pick her life up and move forward.
“He was the one who uplifted and motivated us,” she said. “All I can do is pray and cry. I don’t know what I am going to do. But, I know I have to find the strength for him and especially for his children,” Conrad said of her brother.
”No matter what I was going through, he was always there for me. He was the one. He was the rock of our family,” Conrad said.
His mother, Audrey Miller-King, said her son was unique.
“He was my first-born. Everyone in the family spoiled him, especially my mother and father. If I wanted to take him somewhere I had to fight with them. He didn’t want to leave his grandmother to go with me,” she said chuckling.
Miller-King said her son took care of her and her mom. When he was 8, he promised his mom that he would take care of her and his grandmother when he grew up.
“He was very smart in school, from elementary through middle school He went to college in the summer as part of the Upward Bound program. He always wanted to be successful,” his mother said..
Miller-King said his children are without a great father’s love because of this shooting incident. His 16-year old daughter is as senior in high school and all Brown talked about was her graduation. He wanted to see her graduate and go to her prom, she said.
Racqueal Woods, a close family member said, “He always greeted you with a smile. And if there was an event. he showed up at like If it was a birthday party, he paid the tab. This is just unbelievable. It had to be somebody who was jealous. Everybody loved him.”
He just had the grand opening for the restaurant this summer.
“There was a store in his old neighborhood on Waverly that he bought,” she said. “It’s not the best neighborhood, but he wanted to give back. He was like the Nipsey Hussle of our hood. Some people get some success and go away. He really wanted to stay and help. He did a children’s garden, just so much.
The children’s garden, called Tiny Children’s Garden, was a vegetable garden Brown started on Forest Boulevaerd in Washington Park, where he grew up.
Woods said Brown want to teach children how to grow healthy food.
“He wanted them to know they could grow fresh fruits and vegetables and use their time in a positive way,” she said.
Woods learned if the tragedy from her brother while she was at work. . And her immediate reaction was “to shut my office door and try to take it in.”{
“My first thought was ‘Who would do this?’” she said.
“It’s crazy some people won’t come back to their neighborhoods, but then you have a hero like PJ who didn’t want to leave.”
“Being successful and staying around here is devastating,” a saddened Woods said.
Homicide toll
All of the killings in the community is wearing on families, the Brown family members said.
Woods and other family members said they are tired of the ongoing gun violence.
Police have investigated at least 23 homicides reported in East St. Louis this year.
Brown’s family members want the police to do all they can to catch the person who took Brown’s life. They also want people who saw something or know something to speak up to prevent further bloodshed.
Like so many others who are dealing with similar situations, the Brown family urged people to “Put the guns down.”
