Within 24 hours of Martin Luther King Jr.’s sister-in-law being assaulted outside her southwest Atlanta retirement community, top city officials had visited with residents, management had promised significant security changes — and the victim had vowed “no ill will” toward her assailants.
Naomi King — the 83-year-old widow of Dr. King's younger brother, Rev. A.D. King, and a civil rights leader in her own right — was trying to drive through the front gate of Big Bethel Village at about 5 p.m. Friday when "two individuals" approached and demanded she get out of her car. She refused, Atlanta police said, and one suspect punched her in the mouth before he and his co-conspirator fled.
The attack left residents shaken but, in a statement released Saturday afternoon through the foundation named for her husband, King asked for “justice rather than revenge.”
“Yes, there must be justice for this tragic attack,” King said. “Yet we must seek solutions and opportunities for our youth so that others don’t choose this hopeless path that my attacker sought.”
“… In thinking of yesterday,” the statement continued, “in a way at least what happened to me brings attention to those who need a voice. Now we must act.”
Amid murmurs of rising crime in the area, officials appear to be doing just that.
Karen Twinem is vice president of communications for National Church Residences, which owns and operates Big Bethel Village. She said Saturday that the community on Richard Allen Boulevard, which has not previously had on-site security guards, will now be staffed 24 hours a day.
A camera will also be installed at the gate where King was assaulted, Twinem said, and increased lighting in the parking lot will be considered.
“We want our residents to be safe,” Twinem said. “We felt we really need to look at this in light of what’s going on in the neighborhood.”
Councilman C.T. Martin, head of the council’s public safety committee, said he and Atlanta Police Chief George Turner visited King on Saturday. Mayor Kasim Reed is also expected to meet with King, he said.
Martin said King and others were clearly shaken and discussed ongoing concerns about the safety of their housing complex and community. The Atlanta Police Department, which has released only basic details about the incident and offered no other public comment, is monitoring the area and making recommendations about tightening up security, he said.
Public safety leaders also spoke to the group about becoming more vigilant, Martin said.
“The people are very much in fear of the situation,” he said. “They showed us where somebody came up over the back fence in one subdivision and they feel that young people are coming under the fence.”
Martin said while crime rates ebb and flow, he’s concerned about a tilt toward violent behavior.
“Criminal behavior is worse than it’s been. Who can feel good about smashing (an older woman) in the face?” he said. “That’s a different kind of a person than your petty criminal.”
Twinem said a meeting with police and a local neighborhood watch group is scheduled for Monday. King has lived at Big Bethel Village since 2010, she said.
About the Author
