by Brianna Smith-Herman —
On August 22, Jermia Jerdine, whose brand name is Mia Jaye, Young Dolph’s longtime girlfriend and mother of his children, initiated the Black Men Deserve to Grow Old Campaign, under her Respectfully Mom-E-O brand.
The campaign, which incorporates the selling of “Black Men & Boys Deserve To Grow Old” merchandise, collaborates with influencers to discuss methods of change and shares heart-wrenching statistics on the reality of gun violence.
Jerdine launched the campaign in honor of her brother, who was killed in a senseless shooting in 2020.
“After my brother’s death, I realized how common violence is against members of the same communities and how prevalent it is within the black community,” Jerdine said.
The Black Men Deserve to Grow Old Campaign has a mission to serve two purposes. The first purpose is to raise awareness regarding the rising homicide numbers in the black community, which resembles a purge or modern-day genocide amongst black men and boys.
The second is to support three families tragically impacted by the loss of their husband, father, brother or son.
It is unfortunate that the cause Jerdine worked so hard to bring awareness to struck her family again.
This time her life partner and children’s father.
A day after the rapper’s murder on Nov. 17, she took to her Instagram to express her grief and thank everyone for their love and support. “Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, love, support, calls, messages… I may not see them all but when my eyes are not full of tears, I catch a few,” she said.
Jerdine continued, “All the genuine positive vibes, energy, and prayers are welcomed because Lord knows I need them.”
Jerdine posted a video, she captured days before, of the couple’s daughter, Ari, exercising with her father Dolph.
Jerdine followed that post still expressing her grief saying, “God give me the strength… Adolph I love you with all my heart and soul.” She concluded her post saying, “How am I going to tell my babies that daddy is never coming home? Pray for me.”
Jerdine has been actively advocating for Black Men and Boys to Grow Old for some time now and, ironically, she posted a video to her social media a few months ago speaking about the ongoing crime in the community and how residents needed to unify and figure out a way to combat the senseless crimes and killings.
“We are shouting loud and we are fighting hard, for our voices to be heard, that nonblack people will respect us and acknowledge that Black Lives Matter… but what about our fellow black peers in our community that don’t value our lives? Why don’t we treat our lives like we matter amongst one another?
“It’s still very hurtful to me that even when we fight to get a conviction or a bill put in place where people must value our lives, we don’t value each other?
“We hurt each other time and time again… It’s like a vicious cycle. What are we going to do to combat that?”
Young Dolph played a key role in this campaign and since his tragic killing, Jerdine has created the Young Dolph Black Men Deserve to Grow Old Tribute Hoodie.
To support, share and keep up with Black Men Deserve to Grow Old Campaign, follow @shopmomeo or visit www.shopmomeo.com.
