Eight.
That’s the number of homicides with a gun that involved teenagers this year in Savannah and Chatham County according to police.
And that’s what one young California man is out to change.
The young anti-violence activist, Semaj Clark, was shot two-months ago in Yamacraw village.
But now–he’s recovering and ready to jump right back into the fight against violence.
News 3’s Courtney Cole spoke to Clark to find out how he plans to move forward in this Only On 3 report.
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“Maybe I am crazy, but I’m not going to run from the fire. I want to be like Nelson Mandela, Malcom X, Martin Luther King–that’s the legacy I want.”
And that’s why Semaj Clark is back in Savannah.
We introduced him to you two months ago.
He was visiting Savannah on an anti-violence campaign, when he was shot during a robbery attempt in Yamacraw Village.
“Since the last time I spoke to you…It’s been a lot of ups and downs, it’s been a lot of challenges, I’ve been coming across a lot of bumpy roads and stuff like that. But everything seems to come into play,” Clark said.
And after more than a month in rehab, he’s says he’s feeling a lot more like himself…
“I’m starting to do way better, I’m starting to get more independent and stuff like that…they taught me a lot of stuff I didn’t think I would learn,” Clark told News 3.
And when it comes to ever being able to walk again…
“The doctor hasn’t told me that, but I feel like I’ll be able to…I think it’s coming,” said Clark.
And something else that’s coming is a program to help young adults better themselves.
“…It’s going to be a program like reading and writing and stuff like that gives young adults or high school dropouts the basic knowledge to pass the G.E.D test. And then right after there, it’s going to be a self-actualization part of it where they learn how to make resumes and do stuff in society and learn how to find a job,” said Clark.
He says he’s already reached out to Mayor Jackson and city council members, but would really love to work with our new mayor, Eddie Deloach, too…to bring back the Savannah we all know and love.
“Savannah is so beautiful, so historic–and if you take away the violence and everything that’s going on–it’ll be wonderful,” said Clark.
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Clark believes a lot of violence happening now is out of retaliation–but if we teach people how to deal with their problems in different ways, he believes it could help stop the violence altogether..Click here if you would like to Clark and his mother with any of the medical costs: https://www.gofundme.com/xr6jr775Click here to read the initial story: http://bit.ly/1MQbEao