“If you’re on probation in Georgia, some are required to do a values certification class. We want to be that training camp for people who are on probation.” Anette David-Jackson, administrator of the Street Groomers.
The Atlanta-based Street Groomers activist organization is setting to create change at the level where it’s most obviously needed the streets. Advocating for the homeless, the hungry, the houseless, and the held back, the Street Groomers are aiming to give people on probation a leg up on reintegrating into society with a course that would run over four weeks, requiring one hour every week for attendees. The organization is also crusading for felons on parole with a new class they plan on rolling out this year. Those measures would build on the group’s six-year record of grassroots activism.
Founder of Atlanta s Street Groomers remembered as a giant among men with a gentle heart
Remembering Haroun Shahid Wakil
Atlanta community activist Haroun Shahid Wakil has died, but his legacy of service will live on, his friends promise.
ATLANTA - Kevin Trice said Haroun Shahid Wakil used the lessons from his own troubled youth to save Trice and many others from a lifestyle that often leaves Black men in jail or in the grave. He let me know there was more to life than standing on the block selling drugs. He introduced me to Islam, got me to stop drinking and doing drugs, and even let me stay at his home to make sure I was doing the right thing, said Trice, as he stood on in front of the Chappell Road home where Wakil lived for the last several years.
After his passing, a number of figures remembered his towering presence on Twitter.
Atlanta Councilman Antonio Brown wrote in a tweet: I can’t stop the tears from falling. Today we lost a brother, a friend, a hero to Atlanta, who fought relentlessly & fearlessly for fair treatment of ALL Atlantans. He was literally the force behind my run for @atlcouncil. I’m heartbroken. Rest In Power Haroun Shahid Wakil.
I can’t stop the tears from falling. Today we lost a brother, a friend, a hero to Atlanta, who fought relentlessly & fearlessly for fair treatment of ALL Atlantans. He was literally the force behind my run for @atlcouncil. I’m heartbroken. Rest In Power Haroun Shahid Wakil ❤️✊ pic.twitter.com/MgUrv8YUUH Antonio Brown (@AntonioisMuted) February 25, 2021