A Detroit family walked the riverfront near their old neighborhood this week to honor a 15-year-old whose fight with a rare bone cancer ended in his death nearly two years ago but has since reshaped state law hundreds of miles away in Georgia. GaKobe Milton, who once lived in Detroit before his family relocated to Atlanta, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at age 13 in 2022 and died on December 10, 2024, after a two-year battle with the disease. His mother, Kuleesha Milton, brought his memory back to the city he called home with a 5K walk at Alfred Brush Ford Park along the Detroit Riverfront.
The event, first reported by ClickOnDetroit | WDIV Local 4, drew community members and supporters who came out to walk in GaKobe's name. Kuleesha Milton, who founded and now serves as CEO of the GaKobe Strong Foundation, said she wants to raise awareness for pediatric cancer and for others affected by the disease. The foundation, created to support families affected by cancer, provides financial aid, emotional support, youth mentorship, and educational scholarships to families facing pediatric cancer, according to Northside Hospital, where Kuleesha works.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield recognized the GaKobe Strong Foundation during the riverfront event, according to the station's report. Sheffield, sworn in on January 1 as Detroit's 76th mayor and the first woman to lead the city, spent 12 years on the Detroit City Council, including four as Council President, before taking office.
A Twin's Promise and a Mother's Grief
GaKobe's identical twin brother, Gioni Milton, walked alongside the family at the event. Gioni said he will remain strong for GaKobe and believes his brother is always with the family. GaKobe, a high school basketball center in the Class of 2027, had told his mother that God got him and God got her, per the same account. Kuleesha has said she finds comfort in her faith and her belief that GaKobe's spirit remains present.
GaKobe wanted to travel around the world and spread love after completing treatment, with Detroit planned as his first stop. The foundation's own framing describes the mission as bringing GaKobe's dream of spreading love back to his Detroit roots. Detroit Pistons mascot Hooper also appeared at the 5K, adding a hometown touch to the memorial walk.
From Personal Loss to State Law
GaKobe's death did not end his family's advocacy. Georgia lawmakers signed the GaKobe Milton Act into law in his honor, and Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 1284 on May 5, according to the Georgia General Assembly. The law requires local school boards to petition the State Board of Education within 14 days for graduation requirement waivers, allowing schools to award diplomas to terminally ill students receiving end-of-life care, or posthumously if necessary. The act waives completion of all remaining high school graduation requirements for eligible terminally ill students.
The GaKobe Strong Foundation now plans to help as many families as possible and is expanding beyond Michigan. Before his diagnosis, GaKobe drew support from well outside his adopted home state. During his treatment in 2022 and 2023, Detroit's Real Kronk Gym and undisputed world boxing champion Terence Crawford publicly rallied behind the then-13-year-old to raise awareness for his fight, as reported by Essentially Sports.
Osteosarcoma's Steep Odds
Osteosarcoma remains a rare diagnosis, striking roughly 1,000 people in the United States each year, with about half of those cases occurring in children and teenagers, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease most commonly develops during adolescent growth spurts. Survival odds hinge heavily on timing: five-year survival rates for localized childhood osteosarcoma range between 70% and 75%, but that figure drops to between 15% and 30% if the cancer has already spread before diagnosis, per the Canadian Cancer Society.
The riverfront setting for the memorial walk carries its own history of renewal. Alfred Brush Ford Park finished the first phase of an $18.4 million overhaul in late 2023, opening an 8,600-square-foot facility recognized as Detroit's first climate-resilient community center, according to BridgeDetroit. The 34-acre eastside park sits within a broader Strategic Neighborhood Fund investment aimed at improving public park connectivity and river promenade access, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit.
For Kuleesha Milton and her family, the walk was less about the park's renovation and more about keeping a promise. GaKobe wanted Detroit to be his first stop after treatment, a homecoming meant to spread love before he set out to see the world. His mother and twin brother carried that intention forward along the riverfront this week, turning grief into a law that will outlast them and a foundation that intends, in Kuleesha's words, to help as many families as possible.
