‘Sierra’s light will continue to shine’
Hundreds gather for funeral of reporter killed in Norfolk shooting
NORFOLK — An estimated 600 people gathered Saturday to honor Sierra Jenkins, a young journalist whose life was cut short by a stray bullet when gunfire erupted outside a popular Granby Street nightspot two weeks ago.
Roughly 450 mourners lined the pews of the Metropolitan Funeral Home Chapel. As guests continued to pour in, another hundred were ushered to an overflow chapel. When those seats were filled, dozens stood in the lobby, the entryway, the hallways — anywhere there was standing room.
In a tribute to her best friend, Drew Ferebee said she believed Jenkins, who turned 25 less than a week before her death, would change the world.
“Sierra always said ‘I don’t have to change the world. If I can just leave a mark in my little section, I will be happy’,” Ferebee said. “Well Sierra, I think you underestimated your section.”
Jenkins was an education reporter for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press. Prior to joining The Pilot in December 2020, she interned at Atlanta Magazine and CNN, and worked as a news assistant for CNN Health. Jenkins was particularly interested in social issues, always looking for stories that could create change.
She was one of two people killed early March 19 at Chicho’s Pizza Backstage in downtown Norfolk. The gunfire, Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone said, started after an argument over a spilled drink. Police have not identified any suspects.
Elder Phillip Moore Jr. officiated Jenkins’ service. He offered words of comfort as he led family, friends and community members in a celebration of her life.
Moore said Jenkins lived her life as God wanted — living her purpose.
“Sierra was doing what she was purposed to do,” Moore said. “Sierra was here to invoke us, to revoke us, to think better than we think, to address issues that so many have swept under the rug because it does not meet their personal or political agenda.”
Between the reading of the Bible and praises to God, Moore urged mourners to “not be so emotional that we do not demand justice.”
“We dare not overlook what is going on. We dare not act like there was an illness, like she just stepped away. There is something that needs to be done about the condition of the world in which we live,” Moore said.
As he said people no longer care about the consequences of their actions, Moore told those gathered to “be better.”
“There is entirely too much senseless violence, to the point of exhaustion, nausea, irritation. To the point that we are really and truly fed up,” Moore said.
Maurice Thompson, a professor at Georgia State University, learned of Jenkins’ death from a news article that featured her photo.
“When I saw her picture, I just assumed she had won an award,” Thompson said. “Then, I started reading it and I thought ‘Oh, God.’ “
Thompson spoke Saturday of how Jenkins came to be one of his best students.
“When I met Sierra, she came to me and she said, ‘I need to enroll in your class because I need the knowledge that you have to do what it is I am going to do’,” Thompson shared during the service.
Under Thompson, Jenkins studied the history of African Americans in Georgia, which Thompson said touched on criminal reform, gender pay, LGBTQAI rights, voting rights and women’s reproductive rights.
He said Jenkins was the epitome of the phrase, “Let the work I have done speak for me” — detailing her professionalism and thoughtfulness.
“We will remember the work Sierra has done,” Thompson said.
An all-female motorcycle group escorted Jenkins to Forest Lawn Cemetery at the request of her mother, said family friend Kenya Youngblood. The female motorcycle escort, Youngblood said, was to honor Jenkins’ advocacy for women’s rights.
Jenkins was a member of HER Campus while at Georgia State University.
“It was then that she began to focus on women, women’s health, women empowerments and marginalized communities,” Jenkins’ mother, Moniquekia Thompson, wrote in Jenkins’ obituary.
“Sierra found that her voice could be heard with the power of her words. That was her charge in this realm,” read the obituary. “Sierra’s light will continue to shine, one word at a time.”
Jenkins’ last story was about a Hampton University program to take in students impacted by the war in Ukraine, reflecting her passion for telling the stories of students.
In her tribute, Ferebee highlighted Jenkins’ promising career as an agent of change, stating that in her 25 years, Jenkins had accomplished what some do not accomplish in 65.
“I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around reality,” Ferebee said, her voice shaking as tears poured down her cheeks. “But what I know for sure is that when you opened your eyes on the other side, God said ‘Job well done.’ “