When the kids were younger, we’d play a little game.
Say a car passed by. Maybe someone was walking down the street.
“What color was the car?” I’d ask.
Or, “What did that person look like or have on?”
On a good day, they might guess the right car color, but the message of the exercise was crystal clear: Take notice of your surroundings, even when in the comfort of your neighborhood.
It’s reaffirming to know that Marvin Dixon, a seasoned criminal investigator, uses a similar exercise when he talks to school-age youngsters about the law, more specifically how to keep one’s nose clean.
He’ll have a colleague enter and exit the room briskly. His captured audience is asked to describe the person’s weight, height, attire and such.
“Most of them get it wrong,” he told me, “but most people will get it wrong anyway unless they are trained and know what to look for.”
Dixon, a former investigator for the Fulton County public defender’s office, is well-versed in crime and the judicial system. He’s appeared on an episode of “48 Hours,” and was featured in “The Condemnation of Little B,” a nonfiction book about a 13-year-old black Atlanta teen. Michael “Little B” Lewis was charged with, and subsequently convicted of, killing a 21-year-old man in front of his two boys.
In the late 1990s, Dixon founded VeriFacts Investigations, a full-service agency that handles criminal and civil cases. His investigatory work, coupled with his courtroom experience, has exposed a stark reality.
“I was seeing offenders become younger and younger,” he said.
Years ago, Dixon was asked to be a career day speaker at an Atlanta public school. He has since made himself available whenever asked in an attempt to “reach one kid.”
“Oftentimes, black people get sent to jail when they don’t need to be there,” he said. “But these kids also have to stop putting themselves into positions to even come in contact with law enforcement.”
So this Atlanta native and Howard High alum works to spread that message to school-age students.
And for that, he’s my Big Picture Person of the month. Contact him at dixon6612@bellsouth.net.
He wants young people, not just blacks, to be aware of their surroundings, conscious of their dress and the perceptions of stereotype it may bring.
To know that a busted taillight can lead to blue lights in the rear view. Especially after midnight.
He admits to an uphill battle. Kids will be kids. Some will listen to what he has to say. Others will shrug it off as just another adult being extreme.
“Reaching elementary school kids is a little more complex than reaching middle-schoolers,” he said. “Elementary school kids like to ask if I’ve ever shot anybody. I tell them, ‘No, you don’t have to hurt people.’ I try to be diplomatic. I always hear people talking about ‘these bad kids.’ My thing is, what are you doing to rectify the problem?”
Good question.
Rick Badie, an Opinion columnist, is based in Gwinnett. Reach him at rbadie@ajc.com or 770-263-3875.
