I had the opportunity to talk to Micheal Williams Jr and his father about the community what their actions meant to the city of Fayetteville, NC.
The 17-0, professional lightweight boxer, Michael Williams Jr, recently supported the city of Fayetteville by volunteering, alongside his dad, Michael Williams Sr., in a memorial clean-up of the Massey Hill neighborhood in honor of Darrel “30” Wilson. “Thirty” was well known artist of the Massey hill area.
Keem Jones, founder of One Fayetteville, one of the nonprofit organizations that sponsored the Massey Hill Clean-up, described Thirty as an artist that “constantly represented the unheard artist.” Thirsty was known for his “vivid depiction of his personal ups and downs” that left the neighborhood with memories that will last a lifetime after his premature death on March 9.
Williams Jr., or “The Champ” according to Fayetteville citizens, was ready to get his hands dirty Saturday morning as he and his dad lead one of the cleanup teams during the event.
“It’s just a special moment, you know? Being in the community, coming together cleaning up and just showing love to Thirty,” Williams, Jr. said. The Champ expressed genuine support to the family of Thirty and the Massey Hill community.
“[I’m] pretty much just letting the community know that I support them as well. It’s just me giving back, it’s me coming out, showing love and [its] time to clean up the community.”
The Massey Hill clean-up also featured other well-known talent from the area including EBF 2X, a Fayetteville rapper, and other members of the EBF family. Morray, a Spring Lake native and rising hip hop artist known for his single “Quicksand,” missed the event due to the demand of his work schedule.
With the biggest concern focused on showing love to your community by cleaning it up, The Champ, EBF 2X, and the city of Fayetteville created a “bittersweet” moment for the members of the Massey Hill neighborhood, especially for Thirty’s mother, Mary Wilson.
The entire event set the tone for moving forward into the summer season. With more community-oriented events on the agenda for the upcoming months, The Champ and the city of Fayetteville look forward to taking care of their city because as Morray said: “if you love your city, clean up your city, please.”
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