06/19/2026
Good morning, Columbia.
I woke up angry.
Not political angry. Not social media angry. Community angry.
As I scroll through the news this week, I see the same story being told over and over with different names and different faces.
🔹 A young man is killed during what investigators say was a drug transaction turned attempted robbery in Bamberg County.
🔹 A shootout involving law enforcement in The Summit has residents on edge.
🔹 A young videographer leaves home for a job and never makes it back.
🔹 A woman leaves the gym, goes about what should have been a normal day, and is later found dead on the side of the road.
🔹 My former tenant, Patrick Williams, lost his trial and received a 30 year consecutive sentence. Whatever your opinion of the case, that’s another life largely defined by choices that led to a courtroom instead of opportunity.
Then I see the passing of Rev. Simon Bouie, a man who spent decades fighting to open doors for people and improve communities.
One generation spent its life building.
Another generation seems to be dying, shooting, robbing, overdosing, or sitting in prison cells at an alarming rate.
As someone involved in real estate, bail bonding, and community development, I see these stories differently than most people.
I don’t just see headlines.
I see vacant seats at dinner tables.
I see mothers planning funerals.
I see children growing up without fathers.
I see families scrambling to find bond money.
I see prison sentences that effectively end a person’s productive years.
I see neighborhoods losing hope one incident at a time.
The uncomfortable truth is that cameras aren’t fixing it.
More police aren’t fixing it.
More news coverage isn’t fixing it.
Until we start addressing the culture, the mentorship gap, the lack of accountability, and the absence of positive opportunities, we’ll continue reading the same stories with different names attached.
At some point, we have to stop asking, “What is happening to our city?”
And start asking,
“What am I doing to make it better?”
Because right now, the headlines are winning.
And that’s a problem for all of us.
💔🙏🏽
Azavius Jones is wanted for allegedly firing 20 rounds into a crowd outside the Jerk Hut, leaving 25-year-old Ty'shon Vogt dead and others injured. Sheriff Leon Lott declared the spot a public nuisance. https://www.wltx.com/article/news/crime/jerk-hut-shooting-azavius-jones-sheriff-lott-shutdown/101-594e1164-d677-4cb8-a2ee-3f686ec97535?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WLTX_News19
