Mourners led a horse-drawn carriage carrying Cornelius Taylor’s casket through the streets of Atlanta on Monday, demanding justice for the unhoused man who died during a sweep of a homeless encampment.
Before dozens of friends, activists, and family members set off for City Hall, a funeral service was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church for the 46-year-old, where his loved ones and religious leaders delivered tributes and called for changes to the city’s homeless strategy.
The church is near the Old Wheat Street homeless encampment, where witnesses say a Department of Public Works construction vehicle rolled over Taylor’s tent while he was inside on Jan. 16. He was later pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.
One person after another lined up in the morning to pay their respects, mourn, and shed tears for Taylor, who lay in an open casket dressed in a beige jacket. One man, wearing a black suit and wide-brimmed hat, placed a hand on Taylor’s chest, then leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. Later, pallbearers removed an arrangement of white, yellow, and blue flowers. A pale blue shroud was rearranged to partially cover him before they closed the casket.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Taylor’s surviving family members and friends sat in the front row of the church, watching as his cousins, Darlene Chaney and Derek Chaney, walked to the podium in the crowded auditorium. Darlene said she had written a “little letter” for the man she grew up with and regarded as a big brother.
“I see you smiling back at me and saying, ‘Sis, chill out. I’m good. I’m actually better than ever. I’m with God,’” she said, as Derek swayed on the spot next to her, his head bowed in sorrow. “For so long, you were invisible to so many people. You longed for people to just acknowledge your presence with more than disgust. Well, guess what, homie, you’re not invisible anymore.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
The funeral program said Taylor “demonstrated a passion for the arts” and loved playing the flute while growing up in Atlanta. It described him as a voracious reader of science fiction and murder mystery novels and noted that he had attended Ronald McNair Sr. High School.
“Known for his quick wit and infectious laugh, Cornelius had a sense of humor that could light up even the darkest days,” the remembrance said.
U.S. Sen. and Rev. Raphael Warnock began an invocation as a piano note reverberated around him. He said he wasn’t going to “get in the weeds” of the investigation into Taylor’s death but stressed that more needed to be done to help people who are poor.
“You’ve got to recognize the way in which he was crushed, even before he was crushed,” Warnock said.
After the funeral, Michael Blocker was among those who followed a horse-drawn carriage down Auburn Avenue for the 1.5-mile walk to City Hall. He said he met Taylor in 1998 and described him as someone who lifted up those around him — a “beacon of hope.”
“He had no business in the tent. The pedigree of the man … I’ve seen worse in higher places,” Blocker said.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
The Atlanta Police Department’s homicide unit is investigating Taylor’s death. But the family was shaken by the contents of an initial incident report suggesting Taylor may have overdosed on drugs, though it did not make any conclusions on the nature of his injuries or death. The report noted he had a bloody nose when an officer found him but no “other obvious signs of physical hurt.”
An investigation led by the family’s lawyer, Mawuli Davis, included an interview with Fulton County Medical Examiner Office pathologist Shamaya Creagh-Winters. According to Davis, the pathologist told them Taylor’s pelvis bone was split down the middle, and his liver and spleen were lacerated.
The pathologist told them those injuries were consistent with being struck or run over by heavy machinery or a construction vehicle, the law firm’s partner Harold W. Spence said last week.
“That diagonal line was where his pelvis was not fractured, but split. It was torn asunder. That’s how she explained it to us,” Spence said. “Would an overdose produce a lacerated spleen or liver? No, it would not.”
Mayor Andre Dickens has called Taylor’s death a “terrible accident.” On Monday, the City Council passed a resolution he backed after talks with District 1 Councilman Jason Winston. It calls for the creation of a City of Atlanta Homelessness Task Force to review the city’s current policies and procedures to ensure they address the safety of people living in encampments.
A separate resolution sponsored by District 5 Councilwoman Liliana Bakhtiari calls for a moratorium on using “heavy equipment” during camp clearings and asks Atlanta Continuum of Care to report on its “procedures and practices related to unhoused encampments,” requiring that the findings be made public.
Speaking outside City Hall before the legislation passed, Darlene Chaney told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she hoped leading the procession to City Hall would send a message to lawmakers.
“He was a dad, he was a brother, he was an uncle. He had a spirit of joy and a spirit of love. I’m sure he would be impressed to see everybody come out for him,” she said.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
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