Africa Bass

Africa Bass was a 23-year-old mother of two who was known for her outspoken "tough love" personality. A Black woman who worked at a Walmart in the south suburbs, she was remembered by friends and family as someone who always spoke her mind. Her mother, Sheila Jones, recalled her as something "very special." Africa had a son, Kv'ion, and a two-year-old daughter named Kiyah. She had recently moved with her children from the Roseland neighborhood to a new home in the Germano Millgate Apartments in South Chicago, a move necessitated by a fire at their previous house just days earlier. Her mother had saved her from the fire, only to lose her to violence shortly after.

The tragedy unfolded just hours after Africa settled into her new apartment. Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, July 27, 2016—the day her son Kv'ion turned five—Africa was walking with her aunt, Sade Wilson, to a nearby store. At approximately 12:05 a.m., as they walked in the 8700 block of South Burley Avenue, someone in a black SUV opened fire. The shots were not meant for her; family and neighbors believe the gunman was targeting a man who was walking in front of them. Africa was struck in the back and chest. Her aunt recalled her turning and saying, "Sade, I'm hit," before she fell to the ground.

Despite her devastating injuries, Africa was conscious in the immediate aftermath. She held her aunt's hand and the hand of a neighbor, squeezing them as they tried to comfort her. "She was squeezing me, and my auntie said 'If you can hear me, squeeze my hand,' and she kept squeezing her hand," her sister, Jovanna Jones, later shared. "I thought my sister was going to make it." Paramedics rushed Africa to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but her condition deteriorated quickly. She was pronounced dead at 12:51 a.m. The intended target of the shooting reportedly suffered only minor injuries to his hand.

The Chicago Police Department launched an investigation into the homicide. In the initial hours, detectives took a person of interest into custody, but that individual was later released without charges. The case remains unsolved, with no arrests made in connection with Africa's murder. The shooting was one of several that had occurred on that same block in the preceding month, leaving residents feeling trapped by the persistent gang-related violence.

The community was left reeling from the senseless loss of a young mother. That evening, family, friends, and local activists gathered for a march and vigil to mourn Africa and call for an end to the violence plaguing their neighborhoods. Her grieving mother, Sheila, pleaded, "When is it going to stop? Y'all done killed something very special to me." Her sister Jovanna lamented the cruel timing of the tragedy, saying, "My nephew is always going to remember that. His mama died on his birthday. You can't forget that." The mother of another young woman killed by gun violence in 2014 came to the scene to offer support, remembering how Africa, known to friends as "Affy," had reached out to her during her own time of grief.

In the wake of her death, community activists organized a toy drive for Africa's two young children, Kv'ion and Kiyah, who were left in the care of their grandmother. Activist Ja'Mal Green, who helped organize the effort, was moved by the family's story, particularly how Africa's mother had saved her from a fire only days before she was killed. Donations were collected at the St. Sabina Resource Center to help the family and provide some comfort for a five-year-old boy who lost his mother on his birthday. Africa's funeral services were held the following week.

As of July 2017, no one has been brought to justice for the murder of Africa Bass. Her death was one of hundreds of homicides in Chicago that year, a statistic that brought little comfort to a family left to raise two children without their mother. Sheila Jones vowed to raise her grandchildren the way she raised her own daughter, promising to "love them more and more and more, and tell them how much their momma loved them."