Trillmonga Presents: Gerald Griggs - Attorney, Social Justice Warrior, & The Prosecution of R.Kelly
We recently had an opportunity to have an exclusive conversation with Atlanta attorney and social justice advocate Gerald Griggs. Always actively involved in his community, his name has been splashed all over our televisions and social media feeds with his direct involvement in the R. Kelly case as the attorney representing the Savage family and other survivors. Mr. Griggs got as candid as he could about the case, but what was eventually revealed is his love for his family and the Atlanta community he assiduously works for.
TrillMonga: How are you? How are you as a person, as a husband, a public figure and attorney doing this morning? I read an article recently where the person being interviewed is interviewed often said that no one ever asks that question.
Gerald Griggs: That's pretty good. I think I'm doing well for being 41 in what feels like 2020/1955, I feel pretty good.
TM: That's a good thing. Everything is going well? Everything is going according to plan?
GG: I'm in a good place.
TM: I did a little research, and I see that you've been listed as a criminal defense attorney in some aspects, is that what you would classify yourself as?
GG: I would classify myself as a litigator. I primarily practice criminal defense, some civil rights, and some personal injury law.
TM: How is it that you've basically transitioned into the social justice warrior that we see on our television screens on a daily basis?
GG: Well, I was born in Atlanta, pretty much the birthplace of the civil rights movement, so I've always been around the movement, and probably in 1999 when I was at Emory (University), I pretty much got tired of seeing the Confederate Flag fly over the University, I transitioned into an activist. So from 1999 to now, most of my actions have been around activism even through my practice of law.
TM: How did you initially get your start in dealing with high profile cases?
GG: The very 1st high profile case I had was the Monica Bowie case. She was kidnapped in Buckhead(Atlanta) in 2006/2007. She contacted me in reference to a minor drug possession case that we resolved. Subsequently, her mother called me and I wondered how she had gotten my telephone number. She told me that she hadn't heard from Monica. We started a search for her, but it never led to her being seen again. That case was featured on Find Our Missing, a series on TV One.
TM: When you entered the legal field, what was your ultimate goal?
GG: My ultimate goal was to be like Johnnie Cochran. The reason I wanted to be an attorney was because back in High School; I watched the OJ Simpson trial and I didn't quite understand what Mr. Cochran was doing, but I knew that I wanted to do something similar. Growing up in Atlanta, under the shadow of Dr. King and titans of the law like Thurgood Marshall; I knew that I needed to transition and become a trial attorney. So coming out of law school, I started off at the public defender's office defending indigent defense cases and just kind of matriculated from there. I've also been around activist groups and formally joined the NAACP about 5 years ago as the Vice President of the Atlanta Chapter and became the state Vice President for 2 years.
TM: Do you have a team? Obviously, you can't do everything yourself.
GG: I have formulated a team over the years but initially it was all me.
TM: And how do you manage a work-life balance?
GG: For the most part, I have an understanding spouse and family that (understands) that this is my primary purpose on this planet, but I've learned to delegate over the years. Before I joined the NAACP, that was a question I got all the time "how do you have the bandwidth?" What has been a blessing in disguise now is the advent of social media, because my team helps with that.
TM: This is probably going to be the portion of the interview that you'll roll your eyes at, but how did you get involved in the R. Kelly case?
GG: Basically the Savage family called and set-up an interview with me. They came into my office and detailed what was happening. They told me about a YouTube press conference they had outside of Robert Sylvester Kelly's home in Johns Creek (GA) and they wanted to know if I could assist them in getting in contact with their daughter Joycelyn Savage.
TM: What was your role in getting the "Surviving R. Kelly" series greenlit by Lifetime?
GG: After the Savage family retained my services, we hosted a full press conference where we invited media to my office and we indicated that the legal team had been formed. A few weeks after that, we received a phone call to be featured on the Dr. Phil show. While we were in LA filming for the Dr. Phil show which was never released, members of the Bunim/Murray team met us at our hotel and took us to their Burbank Studio where we pitched the idea for the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries. Most of the witnesses/individuals that were initially identified were identified by the Savage family and thus the project was greenlit. The first edition reached 26.1 million viewers and 27 million people streaming. Needless to say, it got the message out that there was a profound issue around illegal behavior and Robert Sylvester Kelly. What people don't know is that there were actually 3 documentaries created. There was a Buzzfeed expose, the BBC did a 2-part documentary called Sex, Girls, & Videotapes, and then there was Surviving R. Kelly, and now another edition; Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning.
TM: Is The Reckoning the end of the Surviving R. Kelly series?
GG: Absolutely not, because things have happened after The Reckoning that continue to push the saga. We're hopeful for a conclusion in April (2020) after the first trial, but who knows, and of course he has 3 more trials after that, so it depends.
TM: Has the series affected your case for the Savage family?
GG: No. If anything, it gave the public a brief overview of what we know. Like I tell a lot of people, the docuseries is the PG version of what we know.
TM: I don't know if you're able to answer this question, but I have to ask. Because the Savages aren't considered public figures, do they have a case against the Robert Kelly estate in reference to defamation or slander over the accusations that the Savages sold their daughter to him?
GG: Not yet because we don't have direct contact with Joycelyn Savage. What we've been doing is dispelling any potential damage against the frivolous accusations that Mr. Kelly has made. Of course, the federal government does not believe it, the state government in Illinois and Minnesota don't believe it, and so we've just been managing the potential damage that could have been caused by his malicious statements. At this point, we're still focused on getting direct contact with Joycelyn. After we gain direct contact with her, then all legal options will be on the table.
TM: Of course I've watched the series and I've read up on the case as much as I could. Are the Savages seeking any kind of therapy to deal with this?
GG: Currently they are. They are currently engaged in professional therapy as we speak.
TM: And how are you able to maintain as a family man with all the behind the scenes knowledge that you have of the case?
GG: For the last 15 years, I've dealt with some of the biggest cases in Georgia, so this is no different. In fact, this is the 2nd largest case that I've handled. The Atlanta Public School Cheating scandal trial lasted 8 months and was 3 years in the making before we went to trial. That trial continues to this day with several members on appeal. We appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. As far as a media spectacle, it's pretty big, but as far as a legal case, it's quite simple. My involvement was to help correct the wrong that should have been taken care of decades ago.
TM: Does this case hit closer to home than others?
GG: It does because I'm a father, a husband, and the son of a Black woman and at no point should Black women be treated the way the allegations and ultimately the evidence will show that Robert Sylvester Kelly for the last 20 years has been preying on the most vulnerable and that's young women. My clients brought me the case, then I was retained by a few other survivors, and we've been working with federal and state authorities to put the case together so that in April and September of this year and sometime next year you will see the evidence behind the case.
TM: You mentioned that the Savage family has yet to have direct contact with Joycelyn, but TMZ has recently stated that you told them the family met with her after she turned herself in after the altercation with Azriel Clary. Is this true?
GG: Oh that's true. They met with her after she was arrested for a brief amount of time, maybe 10-15 minutes. They met in a back room of a Chicago courthouse and they attempted to make contact with her after she left the courthouse. They have spoken with her. They have her contact information, but they do believe she is still being cared for by members of Mr. Kelly's camp. What we will say is that we haven't had the correct amount of contact that we're looking for.
TM: Have the Savages met with the Clary family after Azriel reunited with them?
GG: The Savages have spoken to the Clary family after Azriel was released and they've spoken to Azriel, but they haven't formally sat down with them to talk or anything like that.
TM: Is Azriel assisting them in trying to help the Savages? Well is that a conflict of interest now that Azriel has a case against Joycelyn?
GG: Well the case kind of happened because Azriel was trying to convince Joycelyn that Robert was not being forthcoming with her and that's where everything went left.
TM: Is there anything else in reference to the R. Kelly case that you want the public to know that we don't already know?
GG: The public needs to understand the sensitive nature of this case. There are a lot of people speculating about what did and did not happen and what I can say is if there was any merit to Mr. Kelly's claims, he would not be the only person charged. In no uncertain terms did the Savage family sell their daughter, profit from anything, try to get anything, any money out of, receive any money from Robert Sylvester Kelly in any form or fashion. I think I said in March of last year if he has any proof, provide the receipts because we had receipts. We provided receipts to the Federal Government which is one of the reasons why he's charged in as many jurisdictions as he is. For the people on social media or the people that are playing "armchair lawyers" out there, the Savages haven't broken any criminal statutes. They have always sought a peaceful and family-oriented reconnection with their daughter and they will get that over time. If that means that Robert Sylvester Kelly has to spend the rest of his life in prison, that's what will happen. We tried to talk to his lawyers, his publicist, his managers, we tried to talk to him directly, we tried to talk to Joycelyn directly, and the only thing that seems to happen is the hole gets deeper and deeper for everyone in his camp.
TM: Pivoting from this case, are you involved in any of the sex trafficking cases that now seem to be plaguing the Atlanta area and the nation?
GG: I'm not, but given my level of engagement in this case, I've been contacted by many of the organizations that do the grassroots organizing around it, so I'm willing to lend my voice and expertise to help facilitate solving this problem. We recently had an event with Pastor Jamal Bryant, myself, and the Savage family. We signed on with the International Human Rights Campaign which is out of the National Civil Human Rights Center Downtown (Atlanta). It's an international group working on this issue and we're partnering with them.
TM: What are your goals for 2020?
GG: Wow, to reunite the Savage family with their daughter, to make sure that the Georgia NAACP continues to grow, to mobilize people to vote, and that we get an accurate account in the 2020 census. Those are some of my professional goals. Personally, I just want to continue to be a good father, husband, and son of Atlanta that continues to move Atlanta forward.
TM: Would you say that your children are proud of the work that you're doing?
GG: I would think so. My daughter asks me all the time; "Daddy, when are you going to stop marching?" , My response is when your future looks brighter. I think she appreciates it. That's why I do it.
When I asked Mr. Griggs if there was anything else he wanted to include that we didn’t cover; he gave us this gem of a message:
GG: My belief is the Civil Rights Movement never stopped, it just lost the ability to message the people on the ground. I know a lot of people talk about Dr. King and his influence on the movement. I think that we also have to focus on the foot soldiers that have passed the ideals from the Civil Rights Movement on to the social justice movement which is just an extension. I’m just honored to even be in this space, I don’t really consider myself that big of a figure in it, I just want to be the continuation so that my daughters generation realizes the dream that Dr. King had.
To keep up with Attorney Gerald Griggs, you can follow him on Instagram: @attorneygriggs and you can also visit his website: geraldagriggs.com
T.Nicole is a contributing writer on Trillmonga.com. Make sure to check out her blog Tnicolewrites.com and follow her on IG - @tnicolewrites
Photo Credit: AO SPADE