Campus Crime Spares No One–Not Even Son of Fulton County Commission Chairman
Maureen Downey, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 1, 2013
Fulton County Commission Chairman John Henry Eaves posted a sobering note on Facebook tonight that I wanted to share.
I began my day with joy as I dropped off my son on his first day as a freshman at Morehouse College. I have ended my day bewildered as I just learned my son was robbed at gunpoint on the periphery of the Morehouse campus this evening by two thugs who stole his cell phone. Thank God my son, though shaken, is alive and suffered no physical harm.
Right now I am experiencing a wide range of emotions . . . I am relieved and thankful that my first born is still with me, but I am also angry, pissed, and concerned. I am not very optimistic about the future of our community, especially when you look at the status of African-American males. Too many African-American boys have access to guns, too many of them drop out of high school, too many of them are in prison, and too many of them place little value on the lives of others.
I hope we will begin to change the dialogue of what OTHERS are doing to us and our communities, but we must focus on what WE can do to change the pathological self-destructive behavior that is occurring within OUR own communities.
One thing that all urban campuses have to do is make their students and their parents feel safe. I am sure Morehouse is sickened that a freshman was held up on his first day. {snip}