Support the StreetGroomers

  Background/History
Several Atlanta area young Black men  and “street tribe” members, led by Brother Haroon Walik, grew tired of life on the streets and in the jails and decided to transform their lives and to reach out to others in similar situations to help them do the same. They were also tired of seeing young Black men killing each other, and racist police harassing, incarcerating and killing their brothers and sisters. So they decided to organize themselves into street patrol units, unite the “street tribes”, and begin taking back the streets from thugs of all types (including those in Blue) and cleaning up their communities—and the Street Groomers was born!
The Street Groomers are now in demand in many Atlanta area neighborhoods, and in communities in other cities and states, as positive results are immediately noticed in communities they patrol.
In addition to expanding the communities they patrol, their next step is to launch enterprises, programs and projects that benefit and positively transform the youth and communities they patrol. Here is a partial listing of such projects and programs we have initiate:
Patrol the Community:

Walk the children to and from the school busses to make sure that they are safe from harm
Patrol Clark Atlanta, Morehouse and Spellman College to ensure student safety
Patrol high crime areas and neighborhoods, to make sure that it is safe
On post at Booker T Washington to reduce truancy amongst students
Patrol Morehouse when President Obama was in Atlanta, campaigning for Stacey Abrams
 Community Assessment:

Patrol the community after storms to report fallen trees and other unsafe conditions that might impact residents
Call public utility services to ensure that light poles are fixed
Make sure that school busses are on schedule so that children can get to school in a timely manner
Education about Gentrification:

Attend and voice concerns and suggestion at NPU meetings
Hold developers and politicians accountable ensuring that development projects include everyone including the poor and the disenfranchised
Spoke out at City Hall and talk one on one with Council members about the concerns of the people
Addressed projects that do not consider everyone like, The Proctor Creek Project, Gulch Re-development, and other development projects across the city.
Advocate and support the residents at the Darlington Apartment complex who were facing forced evictions
Prison Reform and Prisoner Strike Solidarity:

Advocate for prison inmates who are caught up unjustly in the criminal justice system
Partner with other organizations to demand for basic human rights and economic justice for prison inmate
Organize protests and connect prison inmates to resources so that they have a voice
Speak out at City Hall and Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting to advocate to end the unjust practice of ending cash bail.
Advocate for the release of political prisoners like Imam Jalil, Larry Hoover and Ralo
Register voters
Educate ex-felons and those with a record about their voting rights
Coordinate rides for those who have no means to make it to the polls
Monitor and patrol voting booths and the area around to make sure, voters feel safe from intimidation
Participated at rallies and news conferences to ensure that every vote counts
Challenge Racism and Dismantling Power:

Speak out against racism on college campuses.
Hold businesses accountable when owner or staff make racist or offensive comments
Support individuals who are oppressed by systemic racism, for e.g. standing in solidarity with those impacted by the APS Cheating scandal
Provide support and resources for student attacked by teacher at an Atlanta High School
Support elected officials like the Mayor of Camilla, Georgia who has been impacted by systemic racism
Maintaining the Peace and keeping klan members (at their rallies) in check.
Police Brutality:

Organize and coordinate rallies to support those whose lives were taken due to acts of police brutality
Speak out against police brutality and advocate for justice for families impacted
Community Engagement:

Feed the homeless and the hungry
Collect and Distribute blankets and other essentials for those who are unsheltered and need it the most.
Collect and Distribute school supplies for children who do not have access to these resources
Organize community clean ups to ensure that the community is safe and clean
Organize Peace walks- unifying various street- tribes and bringing them together to advocate for healing, peace and change in the community
Working with various street-tribes to restore houses, build businesses
Created a little league baseball team called “Streetgroomers” for children who could not afford other programs in the community
Served as a community partner with the Fulton County DA’s office on the Fulton County Gang Coordinator’s program
Advocated for salary raises for City of Atlanta police officers
Work closely with Major Hampton, of Zone 1 police department in addressing
Peace Marshall at March for Our Lives Rally
Engage with local non-profits to advocate for at- Risk youth.
Participated in a training on Kingian Principles of Non Violence with other Georgia activists
Speaking Engagements:

Spoke at Global Communities of Practice Program at Emory University about activism work
Spoke at Atlanta Radical Book Fair
Spoke on various radio shows. (WRFG, WAOK and V103)
Spoke at various events organized by Georgia Alliance for Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Alliance for Black Lives and Southerners on New Ground.
Spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church about the Mayoral Race
Organizations involved with:

Housing Justice League
Georgia Stand – Up
Southern Christian Leadership Conference- Cobb
American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia
Worked on Protests with Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrrington Jr., Radio Host and News Reporter Rashad Richey (V103, WAOK 1380, CBS 46)