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Tag: T.I.

Killer Mike and T.I.’s Bankhead Seafood Serves First Responders

Posted on

For Immediate Release

May 19, 2020

ATLANTA – Seeking to support first responders amid the coronavirus pandemic, Michael Render, publicly known as Killer Mike, and Tip “T.I.” Harris, have partnered with the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Foundation and WellStar Atlanta Medical Center South to serve meals to firefighters and healthcare workers through their Bankhead Seafood food truck.

The Bankhead Seafood food truck, went to Atlanta Fire Station 22 on Wednesday, May 20, and will go to WellStar Atlanta Medical Center South on Friday, May 22. Firefighters from stations  16, 22 and 38 (which are all near Bankhead Seafood) were served.

“Everyone says “thank you” to first responders. This is an opportunity to put action behind our words of appreciation,” Render said. “These are true community heroes and we want to show them we value their work and sacrifice.”

The May 20 and May 22 events follow a May 6 effort where Render and Harris teamed up with the community enrichment organization, PAWkids and served meals to 500 Atlantans. The meals were provided by Mercedes Benz. The duo also delivered cash, groceries and other household items to several families in Atlanta’s Grove Park neighborhood.

Render is a Grammy award-winning rapper, businessman, activist and one half of the Hip Hop duo, Run the Jewels. Harris is an actor, Grammy award-winning rapper, businessman, and activist. The duo partnered with Noel Khalil, and purchased Bankhead Seafood in 2018 from Mrs. Helen Harden. They launched a food truck earlier this spring in advance of the reopening the restaurant in 2021.

WHO:                         Bankhead Seafood, Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation, WellStar Atlanta Medical South

WHAT:                      Bankhead Seafood Food Truck Meal Service to First Responders

WHEN:                      Wednesday, May 20 at Atlanta Fire Station 22

                                    817 Hollywood Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

Friday, May 22 at WellStar Atlanta Medical Center South

1170 Cleveland Avenue, East Point, GA

Fire Station 16 and Fire Station 38

Contact: Jennifer R. Farmer, jenniferr@spotlightpr.org

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Tip “T.I.” Harris and Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, Team Up with PAWkids, Serve Meals to 500 Atlanta Residents & Gift Select Families with $500 in Cash and Food for Two Weeks

Posted on

For Immediate Release

May 6, 2020

Tip “T.I.” Harris and Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, Team Up with PAWkids, Serve Meals to 500 Atlanta Residents & Gift Select Families with $500 in Cash and Food for Two Weeks

ATLANTA – Entertainers, businessmen and activists, Tip “T.I.” Harris and Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, today partnered with PAWkids, a community enrichment organization, and served meals to 500 Atlanta residents. The meals consisted of chicken fried rice, fruit and dessert and were sponsored by Mercedes Benz, which distributes more than 1,000 meals weekly to PAWkids, who then serves the food to families in Atlanta’s Grovepark community.

“In any crisis, Black people confront dual challenges. We deal with the challenge of racism, and we deal with the crisis itself. COVID-19 is no exception. What we saw today was an overwhelming sense of need, but also a sense of hope. We are investing in that hope and belief that tomorrow can be better than today,” Harris said.

After serving meals, the Grammy Award winners went to the homes of unsuspecting families and delivered $500 in cash, food for two weeks and personal hygiene products. The families whose homes the entertainers visited were identified by PAWkids’ founder and executive director, Latonya Gates.

“The collaboration with PAWkids is an indication of the relationship Bankhead Seafood hopes to maintain with the local community where both me and Tip grew up,” Render said. “We know there are a lot of people suffering from food insecurity, and giving back is not only our responsibility but our pleasure. An added honor is supporting PAWkids, whom we like to call earth angels.”

Bankhead Seafood’s owners (Harris, Render and Noel Khalil) have grown especially fond of PAWkids, who offer social and emotional supports to children and families. PAWkids’ office sits on property owned by Bankhead Seafood, which allowed the organization to host the food giveaway on Bankhead Seafood’s parking lot.

“I see a lot of Black organizations struggling for a lack of resources,” said Gates. “COVID-19 has given us an opportunity to serve our people. We are doing this through the support of large companies who have given up power and are allowing community-based organizations such as PAWkids to serve our people. This has allowed me to maintain employment during this crisis and decrease food insecurity.”

Contact: Jennifer R. Farmer, jenniferr@spotlightpr.org

Photo credit: Freddy O

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In Meeting with High School Students and Staff, Activist, Rapper and Entrepreneur Michael Render, pka Killer Mike Explains His, Tip ‘T.I’ Harris’ and Noel Khalil’s Vision for Bankhead Seafood

Posted on

For Immediate Release

Feb. 28, 2020

Contact: Jennifer R. Farmer, jenniferr@spotlightpr.org

In Meeting with High School Students and Staff, Activist, Rapper and Entrepreneur Michael Render, pka Killer Mike Explains His, Tip ‘T.I’ Harris’ and Noel Khalil’s Vision for Bankhead Seafood

ATLANTA, GA – As Black History Month comes to an end, three notable Atlantans are taking extraordinary strides to ensure black futures. In a press event at Frederick Douglass High School, Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, detailed his, real estate developer Noel Khalil, and actor, Grammy Award winning rapper, and serial entrepreneur Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris’ vision for reopening Bankhead Seafood.

On behalf of his co-owners, Harris and Khalil, who were unable to attend, Render paid homage to the restaurant’s original owner, Helen Harden, before making space for her to address the crowd of more than 100 people. The event was held at Frederick Douglass High School, where Render and Harris attended. Their former classmate,  Atlanta Chief Judge Asha Jackson, also attended the event and offered remarks in support of Harris and Render’s accomplishment. 

Notably, Daniel Moss, chief people person of HBCU Connection, traveled from Columbus, Ohio to mark the occasion and support the opening, by announcing scholarships for a limited number of Frederick Douglass High School students interested in attending a Historically Black College or University.

“When I was growing up, Mrs. Harden would prepare huge meals and sell them for $5 each,” said actor, activist, rapper and entrepreneur Tip “T.I.” Harris. “For people with limited financial means, this meant the difference between eating with dignity and experiencing the degradation that comes with lack. While Mrs. Harden was running a business, it was clear that she cared about the community. She is a model for the type of business owners we want to become, and a blueprint for the culture we want to have in the restaurant.”

“When you have a business owner and a restaurant with this sort of legacy, someone who ran a restaurant for fifty years, you do not let it slip away,” said activist, rapper and entrepreneur Michael Render, pka Killer Mike. “Mrs. Harden wanted the restaurant to remain in the community and it’s our duty to help her dream become a reality. The job of my generation and future generations is to pick up where our elders, people like Mrs. Harden, left off.”

While the group will break ground on the actual restaurant later this year, the food truck for the restaurant will be operational in weeks.

“We aren’t out-of-state investor with zero connection or compassion for the surrounding community,” said developer and Bankhead Seafood co-owner Noel Khalil. “We are neighbors who are not only committed to the restaurant, but to the people in it – our peers, friends, relatives and acquaintances.”

“Having grown up in the same neighborhood where the restaurant is located, we purchased Bankhead Seafood as part of a broader commitment to bring jobs and opportunity to a place many of us have long called home,” Khalil concluded.

About the Owners

Noel Khalil is a noted developer, affordable housing advocate and founder and principal of Columbia Residential, LLC.

Michael Render is an activist, Grammy Award winning rapper and businessman. He is the host of the Netflix special, “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike,” and one half of the hip hop duo, Run the Jewels.

Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris is an actor, Grammy Award winning rapper, art curator, entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist.

Internationally known and accomplished, Render and Harris have made a practice of seeking frequent counsel from civil rights leaders, neighborhood elders and businesspeople. Khalil is the duo’s long-time mentor.

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