Trevonte Marks never wore a bad outfit. Whether it was his school uniform or if he was dressing up for a special occasion, Trevonte, or better known as Tre, always made sure he looked good.
Inspired by his dad and uncle’s style, Trevonte loved streetwear and sneaker culture, as noted by his impressive collection of shoes. But you could always catch him wearing his Air Maxes and skinny jeans.
“He didn’t like nothing too big, I remember I bought him some boot-cut jeans from Old Navy and he was telling me how played out they was because I was trying to figure out why he wouldn’t wear them,” said his mom Rashidah Marks, laughing.
Trevonte also loved listening to music, specifically rap and artists like Meek Mills and Drake. But he was torn by his love of fashion and fascination with hip hop and wasn’t sure if he wanted to be a fashion designer or rapper. When he was in 10th grade, his mom told him he should start thinking about what path he wanted to go in before he graduated high school.
Unfortunately, he would never get the chance to do either. On November 8, 2018, he was shot on 15th and Federal in South Philly. He was 15 years old. Police have still not found any suspects.
Trevonte was born on January 5, 2003, to parents Rashidah Marks and Khalif Cooper and grew up in South Philly. The oldest of five children, Trevonte had three younger brothers, Jamir Cooper, Khalif Cooper and Bentley Thomas, and a younger sister, Brooklyn Cooper.
This year, Trevonte would’ve graduated from CHAD Charted Architectural and Design high school, something, his mom said, he was really looking forward to.
Trevonte was in many ways the man of the house. Growing up in a single-parent household, whenever his mom was at work, Trevonte would cook for his younger siblings and clean the house.
He was also his mom’s reliable handyman from setting up her bedframe to helping her move out of their house.
“He was like, bright, he was so brilliant,” his mom said. “I felt like he was like a handyman around here for him to be 15 like I felt like he was like, the man of the house, he would do everything I needed help with, he was so helpful.”
In school, Trevonte was known as the class clown, but he’d never disrupt the class, he was more there for comedic relief.
“You know how you try to be serious, he can turn it into a joke fast, and then we’d just end up laughing about it,” his mom said, laughing.
Rashidah Marks wants to honor her son by opening up a cafe in his name, the Tre Way Cafe, and serving his most signature dish, home fries. They bonded through food as she taught him to cook.
Ever since he was killed, Rashidah has been counting down the days until he gets justice. As the days pass, every day she feels like she’s grieving the loss of her son.
“I be battling with myself to this day like, just like that day it happened,” Rashidah said. “Like, I wish I could just tell him I love them and I’m thinking damn did I tell them I love him that day like just anything. I wish I was just there to hold his hand even if he was going to go like I just wish I was there to hug him, squeeze him or something, but definitely tell him I love him.”
