Clayton Hemingway

Clayton “CJ” Hemingway Jr. was a 16-year-old Brooklyn youth whose love of basketball and plans for college painted him as a young person with promise and everyday joys. Known to friends and family by the affectionate nickname “CJ,” he spent time on neighborhood courts and was described by those who have spoken for him in public accounts as someone who found energy and meaning in the game.

CJ lived with his family in the Linden Houses in East New York and was connected to his local community. In the years since his death, his mother and relatives have worked to keep his memory alive through memorial events, including basketball tournaments and anniversary vigils, showing how closely Clayton’s life remained woven into the lives of those who knew him. Local news coverage and community groups have highlighted these efforts as part of an ongoing call for answers and remembrance.

Public reporting from the time and subsequent community coverage make clear that Clayton was more than the headlines that followed the night of November 4, 2017. Those accounts identify him as a college‑bound teenager who enjoyed basketball and whose family continues to advocate for justice while honoring his life with gatherings that celebrate his interests and presence.

Because public records and news coverage emphasize the family’s remembrance activities and community tributes rather than a private, family-published obituary, the full details of Clayton’s early life, schooling, and other personal milestones are not widely published in the sources available. What is consistent across reliable reporting is that Clayton was a young person with aspirations and a circle of family and friends who remember him through communal events, memorials, and public appeals for information. His life mattered to those who knew him and to neighbors who continue to mark his birthday and the anniversary of his death with remembrances.

This page honors Clayton by centering what is known about his life: a teenager called “CJ,” devoted to basketball and looking toward college, whose family and community keep his spirit present through memorial tournaments, vigils, and calls for justice. It is in those acts of remembrance that his name and the warmth of the life he lived continue to be carried forward.