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A clear sky. Much cooler. Low 53F. Winds light and variable..

A clear sky. Much cooler. Low 53F. Winds light and variable.

“Don’t mess with Bill. No, no no! Don’t mess with Bill. Cause he’s all mine. Leave my Billy alone. I say it one more time, don’t mess with Bill.” — The Marvelettes

If I didn’t know any better — okay, wishful thinking — it seems that the New York Times has a sneaky way of anticipating what I’m about to write about. How else do I explain its recent front page story about my work on my latest column, the subject of whom is an Atlanta district attorney.

Now speaking of newspapers, a recent headline in one read, “Gang used TV, social media, DA says.” And later that evening that DA’s name and a short video clip of her popped up in a “Gangs? Drugs? Theft Crimes?” town hall meeting sponsored by a local police department.

That DA? Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Truth is I was close to titling today’s narrative “Rubbernecking Fani,” in that whenever her name comes up in the news there’s a tendency to crane my neck to listen to what she has to say. And, believe me, she never disappoints.

Here’s the question: What do ex-president Trump, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator Lindsey Graham, Georgia governor Brian Kemp, rapper Young Thug and members of the Bloods and Crips gang all have in common?

Here’s the answer: Nary one of them will be sending a Christmas card to Fani Willis because like “white on rice,” Willis is relentless in issuing subpoenas and indictments against these men for alleged efforts to overturn the recent presidential election or, in the case the gang members, for plotting home invasions and burglaries. Thus the bet here is that in some circles Willis is probably dubbed “polarizing” at a minimum or an ‘angry Black Woman,’ tags I suspect she wears as badges of honor. Now this is not really a column about Fani Willis per se. Or, for that matter, is it about her laser like focus in rooting out corruption and the toxicity spewed in rap music. It is, rather, a case study in fearless leadership, audacity and courage, qualities we could use a lot more of nowadays.

Chutzpah, gall, audacity, not sure what to call it, but there’s something special about Fani Willis; something I can’t quite put my finger on. Her swagger and bare knuckles style, valued in men, less so in women, is downright refreshing.

So who is this woman who a police chief called out in unbridled glee during a recent town hall meeting on crime and gangs as the kind of tough leader badly needed in his city?

To begin, Willis attended Howard University, the same university that produced Vice President Kamala Harris, writer Toni Morrison, late actor Chadwick Boseman and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Emory University is where she earned her law degree.

Willis cut her legal teeth by spending 16 years as a prosecutor in the Fulton County, Georgia district attorney’s office. In her years as a prosecutor, she led more than 100 jury trials and handled hundreds of murder cases which led to a 90% conviction rate. “I wore a pager and got up in the middle of the night and walked over bodies,” she said. “So I know what kind of pain it causes when you lose someone.”

Her most prominent case was her 2013 indictments in the Atlanta public schools cheating scandal.

Last year Willis launched a criminal investigation into an infamous phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State by Trump to “find” enough votes to ensure his victory in Georgia. That opened a floodgate to other investigations, including subpoenas to Guiliani, Graham and Kemp. Next in her crosshairs are local gangs and violent lyrics by rappers.

In May this year, Willis’s office indicted the “Young Thug” for 56 counts of gang-related crimes under Georgia’s Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations statute and felony charges for possession of illicit firearms and drugs. She indicted 26 “Drug Rich” gang members for plotting home invasions and burglaries in Fulton County. “If you thought Fulton was a good county to bring your crime to, to bring your violence to, you are wrong and you are going to suffer consequences,” she said at a recent news conference. She cautioned rappers to stop using criminal activities in rap lyrics because she has no plans to stop using them in her cases against them. “I think if you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I’m gonna use it,” Willis said. “I’m going to continue to do that. People can continue to be angry about it. I have some legal advice for you: don’t confess to crimes in rap lyrics if you do not want them used — or at least get out of my county.”

These days critics of Willis come from both conservatives and liberals, and even from some African Americans who called her a sellout for her use of rap lyrics to build her anti-gang cases and focusing too much on incarcerating poor African Americans. Unmoved, an unapologetic Willis is quick to rattle off a list of innovations she has implemented including alternative sentencing and diversion programs, and a criminal justice class for public school children.

I close with a warning: don’t think for a moment that your race, age, wealth, gang affiliation, rap lyrics or political position will immune you from indictments with Fani Willis on your tail … because she’s coming after ya?

Okay readers, sing after me:

“Don’t mess with Fani … No, no no! ... Leave my Fani alone”

Terry Howard is an award-winning writer and storyteller. He is also a contributing writer with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, The American Diversity Report, The Douglas County Sentinel, Blackmarket.com, co-founder of the “26 Tiny Paint Brushes” writers’ guild, recipient of the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award and 3rd place winner of the 2022 Georgia Press Award.

Terry Howard is an award-winning writer and storyteller. He is also a contributing writer with the Chattanooga News Chronicle, The American Diversity Report, The Douglas County Sentinel, Blackmarket.com, co-founder of the “26 Tiny Paint Brushes” writers’ guild, recipient of the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award and 3rd place winner of the 2022 Georgia Press Award.

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