Atlanta, GA
Metro Atlanta's Haitian community horrified by violence in Haiti
Metro Atlanta’s Haitian community horrified by violence in Haiti
Metro Atlanta’s Haitian community is watching in horror as gang violence continues to consume the nation. More than 1,500 people have been killed, and hundreds injured in some of the worst fighting in decades.
ATLANTA – Metro Atlanta’s Haitian community is watching in horror as gang violence continues to consume the nation. More than 1,500 people have been killed, and hundreds injured in some of the worst fighting in decades.
Heavily armed gangs persist in their assault, paralyzing Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They have torched police stations, seized control of the city’s international airports and seaports, and disrupted supply chains of food and humanitarian aid, plunging the nation into chaos.
“It’s a desperate situation,” said Louis Wilkenson, CEO of the nonprofit Give to Haiti. Wilkenson, a resident of Lawrenceville, was born in Haiti. His brother, niece, and nephew live just outside Port-au-Prince. He hasn’t heard from them in three months. “He has children; I don’t know where they are; they are nowhere to be found.”
Wilkenson worries constantly. When asked about the danger his family faces, Wilkenson said, “death, dead.”
More than 1,500 people were killed, and over 820 injured from January to March, according to the UN. Nearly 95,000 people have been forced to flee the capital in just one month. “Those who I know who have been fighting for life, what they’re going through has been very, very scary,” Wilkenson said.
“It’s pretty scary,” said Emmanuel Buteau, the executive director of the Haitian Institute of Atlanta and an assistant professor of theology at Xavier University in Louisiana.
“It’s one of the hardest things for me since I’ve been living in the US to turn on the TV, to turn on the radio, go online and see what’s happening at home,” Buteau said.
Buteau’s family was forced to leave their home outside the capital when they saw something terrifying. “They actually found a bullet on the front steps of the house. That’s when they realized the gunshots were reaching closer, closer, closer to us,” Buteau said.
Both men call on Haiti’s international partners to do more to end the violence and help forge a peaceful, just, and lasting democracy.
“We need to find a way together to truly chart a new future,” said Buteau. “Because otherwise, thousands and millions of people will die unnecessarily,” Wilkenson said.
Both men are raising money to send to people in Haiti through haitianinstitute.org an givebacktohaiti.com.
On a sad day overall for Braves Country, due to the passing of the legendary Bobby Cox, Spencer Strider gave Atlanta fans something to be happy and hopeful about with a stellar outing, shutting down the Dodgers potent offense for 6.0 innings with 8 strikeouts and 15 whiffs. He looked as good as he has in a long time. His fastball averaged 96.4 MPH, with 17 inches of induced vertical break and he had four pitches working nicely together. Even if Strider doesn’t quite return to his Jacob deGrom levels of dominance, having him as a true #1 or #2 quality starter would make a huge difference for this Braves team to pair with Chris Sale. Bryce Elder has been great this season, but shouldn’t be the second best starter in the rotation of a World Series contender. If Strider can keep something like Saturday night’s version of himself moving forward, that’s a huge development for him and this team.
The highly anticipated NBA Draft is finally going to take place tomorrow and the Atlanta Hawks are 1 of 14 teams hoping the ping pong balls bounce their way.
This is going to be the final payoff for what was arguably the best move that any team made last offseason. Atlanta traded down from the No. 13 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and acquired the unprotected 2026 first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans, the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ selections. The Pelicans finished 7th in the lottery odds, and Milwaukee is 10th. Based on the odds, the Hawks have a 40% chance of jumping into the top four.
The last time the Hawks were in the lottery, they jumped from 10th to 1st and selected Zaccharie Risacher. While that was a huge stroke of luck, it has not always worked out that way for the Hawks.
Hawks lottery history
The Hawks have been in the NBA Lottery 16 times since 1985 and in that time span, the Hawks have:
- Moved up five times (2024-moved from 10th to 1st, 2018-moved from 4th to 3rd, 2007- moved from 4th to 3rd, 2001- moved from 5th to 3rd, and 1985- moved from 7th to 5th)
- Moved down five times (2020- moved from 4th to 6th, 2019- moved from 5th to 8th, 2006- moved from 4th to 5th, 2005- moved from 1st to 2nd, and 2000- moved from 5th to 6th)
- Stayed where they were projected to six times
Their biggest move up by far came in 2024 when the moved up to No. 1 and were able to select Risacher, which has not quite panned out.
There is an element of what if to each of these scenarios, especially the years the Hawks moved down. In 2020, they moved down in a draft that contained Anthony Edwards, who is from the state of Georgia and one of the elite players that the league has right now. Atlanta ended up selecting Onyeka Okongwu, but there is a big what if about being able to pair Edwards with Trae Young.
In 2019, the Hawks were 5th in the highly anticipated 2019 lottery that featured Zion Williamson, but they fell three spots. While WIlliamson has not had quite the career most had hoped, he is still an All-NBA caliber player and would have paired nicely with Young as a tandem.
There have been some hits and misses during the 16 times that the Hawks have been in the lottery, but there have seemingly been more missed opportunities, even when they jump up in the standings. They are hoping that they get another stroke of luck tomorrow in what could be a franchise altering day for the Hawks.
Final projected odds for the Hawks:
No. 1- 9.8% chance
No. 2- 9.9% chance
No. 3- 10.1% chance
No. 4- 10.30% chance
No. 7- 19.75% chance
No. 8- 30.18% chance
No. 9- 9.19% chance
No. 10- 0.67% chance
No. 11-
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