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Jaylen Black

@just_jaylen

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The Oliva Pope of Georgia
Writer | Advocate | Sports Enthusiast | Delta
Creator: @theblackbrief
Substack: @blackbrief
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I’m fresh out of emergency surgery with broken bones and torn ligaments because @martatransit failed to keep us safe. This is not how I imagined spending my birthday.

I’m sharing this publicly to make the facts clear: this was not a stampede. No one was pushing each other and everyone was patient and not rowdy after that incredible show. The facts: the escalator at Vine City MARTA malfunctioned after the Beyoncé concert and sped out of control while packed with people. I was thrown into a pile, crushed under bodies, unable to move, barely able to breathe. My ankle was broken and ligaments protruding—and people kept falling on top of us. EMTs made me a priority transport to the hospital because I got the worse of it.

At one point, I felt myself fading. It was minutes into my birthday and I truly thought I was going to die. I remember seeing light and praying—not to live, but to be at peace. I accepted that this might be the end. I could feel myself slipping away until I whispered “one at a time” as my body was pinned to the ground.

It took EMTs over an hour to get us to Grady. My friends held my leg open wounds together while we waited. I never saw a bone protruding like that before. I’ve played sports all my life and never experienced anything close to this.

This was not chaos. This was a failure of infrastructure and planning. It was preventable.

I have a long recovery ahead, but I’m thankful to be here. Please share and help us hold them accountable. Thank you to the witnesses who sent videos and who are attesting to the actual TRUTH. Not the falsities Marta is trying to spin on us victims.

Please keep us all in your prayers.

#Share #Atlanta #Marta by @just_jaylen

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a year ago

Thank you @atlantanewsfirst for covering the truth! I speak for the victims of @martatransit’s escalator malfunction when I say the trauma and medical/physical damage is irreversible.

At least do not blame us victims for a ‘stampede’ as many of us are STILL in our hospital beds. No one pushed us— your system failed us on the most highly anticipated day of the year. We instead freefell like a roller coaster without seats and seatbelts into each other’s bodies. This is not okay. The investigation will continue and I will not be quiet in this preventable tragedy. As a native Georgian, I’ve been on the Marta countless times and each time I’m continuously disappointed in the poor, outdated, and non-expansive infrastructure. This is a culmination of it all. I keep thinking of the five-year old girl I narrowly avoided to save her in my landing that broke pieces of my leg. I’d always choose the pain over a child’s pain.

Atlanta is one of the fastest growing and busiest cities in the world. Our public transportation needs to meet the needs of the millions of people who live here. There was not enough officials for the crowd size and clearly the escalator was not prepared for the influx of concert goers.

I’ll learn how to walk again but what’s stopping this from happening again to anyone else?

It’s not about me. It’s about creating the state we all deserve to live in and that starts with investing and reevaluating our public transit and healthcare infrastructures. First, @martatransit that starts with accountability on your part.

I received the greatest gift this birthday — the gift of life and I’ll cherish every moment of my days.

If you are also recovering from injuries from the incident, please message me!

#Atlanta #Marta #PublicTransportation #Beyonce #CowboyCarter by @just_jaylen

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a year ago

To whom much is given … taken in Atlanta City Hall by @just_jaylen

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3 years ago

Well, hello world. It’s been a while and, trust me, it’s been A LOT.

I’ve been navigating the most challenging season of my life so far. I’ve had to relearn things I once took for granted, including the fundamentals of walking and movement, while learning how to live with intense trauma and constant pain.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to say, where I wanted to go from here, and whether I was ready to share any of it at all. But writing has always been how I make sense of the world, and maybe sharing some of what I’ve been thinking, feeling, and writing will be cathartic for me, too.

Pain. Power. Purpose.

Those are the three themes I keep coming back to.

The Black Brief is returning, but it’s returning differently. Less about having all the answers and more about asking the questions that come with surviving, healing, finding your power, and discovering purpose in the middle of it all.

If something I write helps you hear what keeps you going, reminds you that you’re not alone, or inspires you to keep fighting and keep moving forward, then it will be worth sharing.

The Black Brief is back.

Follow along on Substack: @BlackBrief

#TheBlackBrief #Substack #Pain #Power #Purpose by @just_jaylen

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13 days ago

Missing my Crazy Rich Asians 🇸🇬

#Singapore #marinabaysands #CrazyRichAsians taken in Marina Bay Sands Singapore by @just_jaylen

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a year ago

Q1 photo dump ✨ by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago

Work hard, relax harder ☀️🌊 taken in Los Cabos by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago

by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago

Black people deserve to grow old 🕊️🤎 My latest …. Link in bio for full piece.

#blacklifematters #richhomiequan #SonyaMassey #Takeoff #gangstaboo #healthcaredisparities #Covid19 #Diabetes #Cancer #GunViolence #addiction by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago

Loving my DEI life 🙂‍↔️✨ taken in Chicago, Illinois by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago

“America… America has a problem.” Indeed we do. Excited to share on my birthday my latest venture: The Black Brief podcast. First episode coming THIS month! Give it a follow and eventually a subscribe ✊🏽.

In 2020, as I worked to flip Georgia blue for the first time in my lifetime, I noticed many of my friends, families, and even colleagues didn’t understand the magnitude of that election cycle as it impacted our lives. I thought 2020 would be one of the most unprecedented years of our life. It surely was …BUT 2024 has emerged with even greater consequences where I refuse to let our communities go uninformed on what’s REALLY at stake.

SO back by popular demand my briefing of today’s problems, pop culture, and politics of the day. Thank you to my vast community of supporters, friends, and more who kept pushing me to bring back this video series that I created in 2020. There could not be a greater moment than now. Our time is now!

#TheBlackBrief #BlackBrief #Problems #PopCulture #Politics #2024election taken in United States of America by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago

Q1 🙂‍↔️ by @just_jaylen

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2 years ago