The Motorcycle Memory Ride for Jamal

Vickie Mosely-Jones has no idea how many people will show up this Saturday morning for the Fall Motorcycle Memory Ride. There is no prior-registration. What matters, she tells me at her home in the Little Pamlico community, is that people know the story of her son, Jamal Jones, who died in January 2021 of complications from sickle cell disease at the age of 37. The ride is in his memory.

This weekend’s ride starts at Pamlico Community College at 10:30 a.m. and will wind through Arapahoe, Oriental, Whortonsville, and back to Pamlico Community College. Proceeds from the $30 registration fee will benefit the Bayboro Development Center, assisting individuals transitioning from incarceration. The Fall Motorcycle Memory Ride is the idea of Jamal’s godmother, Dr. Wanda Dawson, and is sponsored by the Love Thy Neighbor Program, Inc.

Jamal’s father, Greg Jones, is an avid motorcycle rider. When Jamal was five years old, he would join him on his winding rides around the county’s country roads. “I had that talk with him, about how things will be okay when I die,” says Greg on a sunny weekday afternoon while showing me is Goldwing Honda trike in the Jones’s yard. “But I never talked to him about what if he went first. We take it for granted, that our kids will outlive us…that they will always be here."



Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disorder. Most red blood cells are round, but SCD causes red blood cells to become C-shaped—like a sickle—causing them to get trapped in small blood vessels, clogging blood flow and causing the red blood cells to die; this in turn results in a shortage of red blood cells. There are several types of sickle cell disease; Jamal had “SS,” or sickle cell anemia—the most severe form.

According to the CDC, there were 5,578 people with SCD living in North Carolina in 2004‒2008. In 2008, 92 babies were born with SCD in North Carolina.



“When Jamal was nine months old, his hands and feet started swelling—they call it “hand and foot syndrome,” Vickie tells me. “And he was crying like he was in a lot of pain. They tested and told us what it was. He was diagnosed at nine months old.”



“For two to three years we lived in denial of what this meant,” Vickie continues, as we move to their living room, where a dozen plants from Jamal’s funeral still thrive. “Until he was 10 he had a really tough time. Multiple blood transfusions. Trips to Duke. As a caregiver, it is hard to watch your child go through it—long nights in the hospital. You miss work. We dealt with it and made sure he had the care he needed—-but no one talked about it,” Vickie tells me, sitting on her couch, hands folded in her lap. “It is still like that for many around the county—it’s hidden.”


Vickie tells me she wants to help other families going through the same difficulties. “They need to know they’re not alone.”



“Sickle cell matters,” she continues. “There is nothing to be ashamed of or hide from. You may have sickle cell, but it doesn’t have you. Jamal lived a full life with love and humor. He even went to a culinary arts school.”



Jamal graduated from Pamlico County High School in 2001 and went on attend North Carolina A&T State University, all the while dealing with the pain and blood transfusions.



Today, every African American child has newborn screening for sickle cell. But there is no cure. If both parents carry the trait, there is a 25% chance that their child will carry it.

“I knew that I had the trait,” Vickie continues. “When I was in college I was tested, just a finger prick, by the Sickle Cell Council in Charlotte. At the time I was 19, I put it in the back of my head. But Greg was in the military, we assumed we would know if he had it.” But as it turns out, he was never tested for it.


“Jamal knew he might die,” Vickie says. “But we always believed there would be a cure in his lifetime. For a long time, this disease wasn’t a priority [for research],” she tells me, because it primarily effects people of color. SCD affects all races and ethnic groups, but 95% of those infected are African-American.



Jamal passed away while in the hospital at Duke University. He was there for six weeks, during the height of COVID-19.



Vickie adds, “I miss my son tremendously, but I’m grateful for the time we had with him. He was a special person.”

Sickle Cell Resources:

Vickie says families can reach her directly via email, [email protected]

Piedmont Health and Sickle Cell Services, Inc (supports families living in eastern NC)

 ECU Health Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at Vidant Health, Greenville, NC


Neuse Pamlico Sound Women’s Coalition, Inc. raises money for scholarships for people with Sickle Cell disease to go to college as well as provide assistance with medicine, gas cards, rent and transportation. On March 11th, 2023, there will be a 5K Sickle Cell Walk/Run for this benefit.

If you have ideas for future bulletins, please email me: [email protected]

To see more photos from me, follow me on Instagram @andreabruce