Friends holding 2nd annual hoops tournament in honor of Samuel Kwarteng

Since his death in April 2017, friends of the late Samuel Kwarteng have worked to create a lasting legacy for the 2013 Mount Vernon High School graduate.

As part of that effort, they’re holding the second annual Samuel Kwarteng Memorial Scholarship Tournament on Aug. 4-5 at Mount Vernon. The two-day hoops tournament will raise money for a scholarship that will go to a graduating Mount Vernon senior pursuing an engineering degree. This year’s scholarship recipient is Bilal Arouna, who will attend Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kwarteng, known to friends as “Sam K,” grew up in the Pinewood Lake neighborhood. He was a 20-year-old senior majoring in electrical engineering at VCU when he was shot and killed at an off-campus house. A 20-year-old Richmond man was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a year in prison after investigators ruled the shooting was accidental.

Kwarteng’s death rocked the Route 1 and VCU communities, and in the ensuing months his closest friends put together the first basketball tournament in his honor. Mount Vernon and the school’s booster club also pitched in to sponsor the tournament, and are doing so again this year.

“Our goal is to help students continue to achieve and remain resilient despite their hardships, just as Samuel would have done,” the organizers said in an advertisement for the tournament.

Music, food — including Jollof rice — and vendors will be on hand each day. Admission is $5 for a day or $8 for the weekend. The organizers are also collecting school supplies for Hybla Valley Elementary School.