Antwoin Seymour Harden

January 27, 1986 – July 27, 2014

“The gift of life is knowing that you have made a difference.” — Tupac Shakur

Photo of Antwoin Harden

On January 27th, 1986, at the Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Angelo Moses welcomed a baby boy she named Antwoin Seymour Harden, otherwise affectionately known as “Twoin.” Antwoin was Angelo Moses’ firstborn. Later, the family welcomed a sister named Riccara and a brother named Kenneth, both of whom Antwoin was very close with. His little brother Kenneth saw Antwoin as a father figure, according to his mom. Despite being born with sickle cell disease and requiring frequent hospitalizations, Antwoin made time to teach Kenneth just about everything, from potty training to driving a car.

Antwoin’s mother recalls that at just 7 months old, Antwoin took off walking full speed toward his mom as she playfully shook her keys to get his attention, and he went full speed ahead into life. Growing up, Antwoin enjoyed all varieties of activities. Antwoin and his brother Kenneth did much of it together. They both especially enjoyed rap music; Tupac was their favorite. Antwoin and Kenneth could often be found spitting bars along to their favorite Tupac songs in their mom’s kitchen while she prepared beautiful home-cooked meals like her signature gumbo. It should be noted that Antwoin and Kenneth always made it a habit to refrain from rapping the expletives in songs out of respect for their mother. If Antwoin wasn’t rapping in the kitchen, then he was likely gathering all his neighborhood friends to come over for supper at his house.

From left to right: Kenneth (brother),
Andrew Quire Sr. (grandfather), and Antwoin

Antwoin attended Tara High School. Outside of class, Antwoin enjoyed playing basketball with his brother. Antwoin used his height to his advantage (he was almost 7 feet tall!), and he also enjoyed attending sporting events with his mom and brother, cheering on the Jaguars at Southern University Football games. Antwoin also could be found playing video games in the family living room with his brother while his mom watched them play. Antwoin’s favorite video games were racing games, whether it be race cars or motorcycles.

Later in life, Antwoin would go on to befriend a rapper known as Fox who encouraged Antwoin to pursue his passion for rapping. Tupac also had a big impact on Antwoin, and Tupac’s music played an integral and influential role in Antwoin’s life and raps. Unfortunately, the songs Antwoin wrote were lost in a flood many years back.

Antwoin spent a lot of time with his grandparents, whom he considered role models. Antwoin’s grandparents were an extremely loving presence in his life, and they had a beautiful marriage. Just as Antwoin taught Kenneth important life skills, Antwoin’s grandfather Andrew Quire Sr. taught Antwoin skills like how to change a tire and how to tie a tie. Antwoin’s grandfather was a carpenter by trade, and he taught Antwoin how to build things. Antwoin’s grandfather was like a father to him. Antwoin made sure to pass down the knowledge and wisdom he acquired from his grandfather to his little brother. Kenneth would later go on to become an architect.

Antwoin had goals of building things to the caliber of Kenneth’s architectural feats, like a restaurant that would showcase his mother’s cooking and a car wash in Baton Rouge. Antwoin also loved to fix up and restore old cars. His magnum opus of restorations was probably his 1980 Cutlass Supreme Car. He also spent some time breeding pit bulls.

Inspired by his grandfather and mother, who were very family-oriented, Antwoin was the same. For Antwoin, joy was eating his mom’s homemade meals, buying things for his loved ones, and spending time with family. When Antwoin wasn’t spending time with his mother or brother, he was spending time with his nieces. He would take his nieces to the park and to baseball and football games at Southern University.

Antwoin and his legacy are carried on by his mother, brother, sister, and nieces. Antwoin passed his car on to his mother. While she no longer has the car, she did save the license plate which reads, “Twoin 1.” Antwoin was 28 when he passed away on July 27th, 2014, due to a blood clot in his lung while in prison at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

Author: Jackson Myers

Sources:

• Telephone Interview with Angelo Moses (Oct. 15, 2023).
•  Antwoin Seymour Harden Obituary: https://www.wilsonwooddalefh.com/obituary/5736878
• Joe Gyan Jr., Mother claims in state suit sheriff, warden others failed to prevent son’s death in Parish Prison; had sickle cell disease, The Advocate (Jan. 7, 2016), https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/mother-claims-in-state-suit-sheriff-ward en-others-failed-to-prevent-son-s-death-in/article_204c3591-2380-5879-8d77-167a9509 d1f0.html
• Farmer’s Almanac of the Weather in January 27th, 1986,
  https://www.almanac.com/weather/history/LA/Baton%20Rouge/1986-01-27
• Top 300 Tupac Shakur Quotes, https://quotefancy.com/tupac-shakur-quotes
• Jonathan Bullington, 25 dead in 4 years: “Abysmal Conditions” prove fatal in Baton Rouge Jail, NOLA.com (Aug 15, 2018), https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/25-dead-in-4-years-abysmal-conditions-prove-f atal-in-baton-rouge-jail-report-says/article_c05e93f7-6e4f-5766-a666-1731738b6556.ht ml
• Shanita Farris & Andrea Armstrong, Dying in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison (July 2018),
  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fe0e9cce6e50722511b03cc/t/600895d13eefba64 a65bbc53/1611175377849/Dying-in-East-Baton-Rouge-Parish-Prison-Final.pdf