View Larger Map
In the 15 years that I have lived on the southside of Atlanta I have talked to many Black elders who have set the record straight. Black people are not "moving out of Atlanta" and into the counties that are outside of the Metro Atlanta MSA as new comers in areas that never saw a Black face before. It is more correct to say that young Blacks back in the day moved from these small rural towns and farms into Atlanta to catch a piece of the action.
Today we are seeing certain big city dysfunctional behavior streaming into these small towns.
I struggle to see how a town that is only 14.5 sq miles can have an "eastside/ westside" turf battle that results in a Black male being murdered and 4 other Black males charged with his arrest.
While the Cobb County branch of the SCLC is fighting to strike down the "unjust law" called "US border enforcement" as they struggle to keep an illegal alien from being deported (no the long running street fight is with the SCLC national organization at its Atlanta headquarters) and as Rachel Maddow is inspecting Rand Paul to determine if he is a Right-wing militia member the duty is left up to bloggers like me to see through the diversionary smoke that is being thrown up and focus on the critical issues that are directly impacting our communities.
It is becoming all too clear that as equal human beings we as Black people will figure out a way to factionalize into warring groups regardless of what the attribute around which we splinter is. In the void that exists within the cultural character of our communities the most insignificant issues can lead to all out warfare. In as much as those organizations that pride themselves upon "social justice" and peaceful mediation" are themselves fighting over who among them will get the corner office in their headquarters - places like Griffin Georgia are left to figure things out on their own. Sadly the gun was chosen as the means of "conflict resolution".
How much longer will our communities choose to be diverted from the real issues? When will the cherry pickers be forced to do web conference calls and e-mail instead of national travel, allowing them to spend more time at home taking care of home base?
AJC Article:
Griffin police have arrested four Griffin men in the shooting death of the rapper known as Yung Hott, who was gunned down Saturday while making a video in his hometown.
The suspects -- Bahir Howard, 22, Corderra Walker, 21, Terry James Fuller, 31, and Terrance Jones, 23 -- are being held without bond in the Spalding County Jail on charges of murder, aggravated battery, child cruelty and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Jerode Paige -- aka Yung Hott -- died at the scene of the quadruple shooting in which at least 20 rounds were fired. Four others, including a 5-year-old girl, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The girl was playing in a toy car in her yard when she was wounded in her left foot. She was treated at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and released Sunday.
Howard was among the shooting victims. He was hit in the leg, treated at a hospital, then transferred to jail.
"We have no idea at this point who shot him," Griffin police chief Frank Strickland told the AJC.
The incident happened around 6 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Tinsley and Fourth streets, police said. Strickland said the suspects came up on foot, firing handguns and a shotgun. Only Fuller did not shoot, but "he was a co-conspirator," Strickland said. "He was right there."
Strickland declined to release the motive yet. He said the suspects were picked up separately over the weekend based on "good information, witnesses, just good detective work."
Paige, 27, was filming his first video. His uncle, Kenny Paige, was among some 150 people who were working on the video or watching when the gunfire erupted.
"I mean, it was broad daylight," Kenny Paige told the AJC. "I heard a lot of gunshots and people scattered."
Paige was shot in the head, his uncle said.
The video was to accompany Paige's first single, which had recently been played on an Atlanta radio station, according to Sid Cooper, a producer who had worked with the rapper.
"He had some good music," Cooper told the AJC. “His music was real. Everything he talked about in his music he did.”
Friends said Paige was trying to turn his life around after a past that included prison. Paige was released from Wheeler Correctional Facility in central Georgia in June and was on parole, according to state records. He served prison time for a variety of drug offenses as well as possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
"He was on the right track," Cooper said.
Paige's father was beaten to death at age 28, and Paige was raised by his grandmother in Griffin, another uncle, Gary Paige, told the AJC. Paige was pursuing his music career with a single-minded purpose. He was again living with his grandmother.
"He got out [of prison] and he said he wasn't going to let anybody stop him from getting his career," Gary Paige said. "He wanted to give his grandmother a lot. He was really into his music and he wanted to show his grandmother he had the ability to be somebody."
Paige made a point of saying he was from Griffin, not Atlanta.
"He wanted everybody to know he was from a little town that had a lot of talent," Gary Paige said.
Paige's uncles said they had no idea why he was targeted.
1 comments:
"Art of the Father," a young man's tale about his father and the lessons instilled in him. Please read it at http://wp.me/pC3Xj-fX
Post a Comment