State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, who has represented an Atlanta district for 35 years, won't be living in Atlanta too much longer.
The Democrat says he's decided to move to Monroe to continue investigating the unsolved lynchings of two black couples in 1946. He's not sure the timetable and hasn't decided yet whether he'll stand for re-election next year. But he said he's not looking to set any longevity records in the statehouse.
Brooks said the reason for his decision is the declining health of Bobby Howard, the long-time activist who's trying to piece together clues about the killings. Howard now suffers from Alzheimer's disease, and Brooks said his "daily" presence will soon be needed to ferret out more clues about members of the lynch mob who may still be alive. (You can read a story one of your Insiders wrote about Howard here.)
The murders have long been a passion of Brooks, who prodded Gov. Roy Barnes to reopen the state investigation in 2001. State and federal agents in 2008 collected new evidence from a local farmhouse, and records show that the FBI investigated suspicions that then-Gov. Eugene Talmadge may have sanctioned the killings. But no new charges have been brought.
Brooks, meanwhile, faces a trial this year on federal fraud charges accusing him of bilking funds while working for nonprofits. He has pleaded not guilty and said he had poor bookkeeping skills but that he broke no laws.
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