Straight from the Mike…”Architects of Hope and Change”

This is hardly a recall of the successful 2008 campaign theme of President Obama. In my mind, this title summarily describes the essence of presentations by three upstanding leaders of Cobb County at the Inaugural Greater Atlanta Congress of Black Men that took place on Saturday, July 13, at Mount Ephraim Church in Atlanta. The triumphant I am referring to were Messrs.’ Craig Owens, Scott Hamilton, and Al Thurman. The cruxes of each of their messages were directed to the youth present and the many male mentors from the congregation.

As an ardent freshwater fisherman in the streams of North Carolina, if I came across fellow fishermen having good luck, I would set my sights on going upstream to try to have even better luck. A change message echoed by all three speakers was if we are ever going to even grind to a slowdown the youth to incarceration pipeline, its upstream we must go. In order to get Johnny and Brittany early, we must engage them and their parents early in the game. In this game of life, there are no dress rehearsals. You can show up or get shown up. The resume and bona fides for each August speaker was as long as these summer days. I suspect the toughest challenge for each of them was to figure out how much cherry picking to do of the pertinent facts so they could get to their message in their allotted time.

The baseball great, Dizzy Dean used to say, “If you have really done it, you ain’t bragging”. The apex of the morning for me was the satisfaction of knowing each of these stalwarts personally and can vouch for their veracity. I would say, judging from the appreciative applause, their stories and messages hit home.

In the case of Sheriff Owens, we are homeys from the Tar Heel State and the thriving metropolis of Fayetteville, NC. Aside from his message describing the notable improvements made at the Cobb County jail, he laid claim to being in a line of successful Precinct 2 Commanders that served with distinction in South Cobb. Craig, along with the late Chairman Boyce, took on the troubled youth, recalcitrant landlords, and woeful living conditions in the apartment complexes on Riverside Parkway. He was able to carry that vision of change into the office of the Sheriff and has developed a holistic approach to the guests that have involuntarily checked-in on County Services Road. He was able to provide a reader’s digest version regarding inmate care and their preparation for a return to a productive lifestyle once released. Of course, he chided the youth to avoid getting on his guest list in the first place. He confirmed his commitment to population reduction. He knows whom to partner with as he mentioned Frank Marshall’s Force of One organization.

Chief Scott Hamilton did not hesitate to engage the young men present. They were fortunate teenagers with their whole lives in front of them. Earlier in the morning program, I had noticed that their heads had dropped. However, thanks to the wake-up charge of the previous speaker, retired Judge Mark Anthony Scott, and Chief Hamilton, ‘they were awake now.’ I have not heard a more compelling case against Black-on-Black youth crime since listening to Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute. Too often, I would submit that the elephant in the room remains so because of other diversions and bogus claims of police brutality and multiple shootings.

Furthermore, it is obvious that there is merit to the vibrant PALS program (Police Athletic League). You do not have to be tall in order to ball. I bet it would be fun taking an officer to the hoop. Also, I cannot forget to mention the acronym for COBB he shared “Come on back here boy.” I was more familiar with the one, “Count on being busted.”

Mayor Thurman, in addition to him having the home court advantage since we were at his church, bought it home with his emphasis on fulfillment and involvement at an early stage. As you might suspect, Mr. Mayor highlighted the ‘V’ word. If you want to get fulfillment and community satisfaction, you must vote, vote every chance you get. He made it quite clear. One needs to stand by their principles and do not waver.

The common thread that stitched a mosaic cloth together for the three leaders was their ability to build the underpinnings of hope for the future to the youth. A saint is just a sinner who did not give up. For me, the poignant point that touched me viscerally was the fact that many of us are pioneers of our time. The descriptive adjectives of being the ‘First,’ ‘Only,’ are eclipsed by our determination to also be the ‘Best’ before our curtain closes.

I am Michael Murphy….