Markynn West

Hello everyone,

My name is Kendra Richardson. I am a community leader, advocate, and activist here in Fort Worth, Texas. I’m usually out here fighting against systemic anti blackness, but this particular situation/case has hit more than close to home.

My cousin, Markynn West, has been facing a murder charge for an unfortunate act that resulted in the loss of a life.

For months I have watched news outlets, strangers, and family members of the deceased defame my cousin’s character and harass him online to . My cousin has said absolutely nothing in retaliation and now is the time for him to speak out.

I have watched Markynn grow from a sweet, intelligent, quiet, innocent little boy to an exceptional young man, father, brother, son, cousin, care taker and community football coach.

Kynn has been a pillar of our family, supporting his mother and brother financially even during this case. He has spent thousands of dollars on lawyer fees, court fees, and has had to sell his car to continue to support himself and his family.

For the past few months, our family has been faced with the terrifying possibility of losing Kynn to a system that is built to work against young, Black men like him for a crime he would’ve never intended to commit. The ADA has dismissed the case and ruled that on the night in question, Markynn’s actions were in self defense.

While the charges are dropped, and Markynn’s innocence has been proven, I am creating this go fund me to help my cousin to recover lost wages and recover after legal fees. Even though we will never get the time we lost back, he could still use help to take care of his son, pay tuition for barber college, and start a new life. He has always showed up for the his community it’s time for us to show up for him.

I thank you all for your support.