Today the hood lost a real one. Mike Chattom was an active community member who fought on behalf of those who could not. Whether he was attending a Compton city council meeting, moderating candidate forums, hosting NAEJA community meetings or advocating on behalf of the (formerly) incarcerated, those who knew him knew he did it for the love of the people, not a dollar.
This author spent many days engaged in political banter with Mike and was sad to hear of his passing on social media.
Minister Mac Shorty, from Redemption Ministries in Watts, CA, tells 2 Urban Girls Mike was the West Director for National Association of Brothers and Sisters in and out of prison and helped file appeals advocating on behalf of prisoners with that virus up in the California state prisons. He also advocated for prisoners in the LA hunger action group.
“Mike’s foundation was built on giving and he gave and fought for those that could not. May God bless him.”
Rest in peace Big Mike.
5 Comments
I knew Mike for several years. Even though we were not close, he was a good friend and I thought he was a good man. Rest in Peace.
I’m sorry to disagree, this man from my experience wasn’t a Minister and based off of my initial meeting with him, he was a common criminal, I met him when I was in my best friends wedding over a decade ago, and he claimed to be someone he wasn’t. He was supposed to help me with a situation regarding a Police Officer from Long Beach who sexually and physically abused me from 1996 to 2003 who approached me three time in uniform wanting to get to know me, later wanting sex from me. The Officer was a well known womanizer who I had turned down multiple times because I wasn’t interested. Michael Chattom had me to pay him to critique my paperwork claiming he worked for Royce Esters in Compton and he did fight against Corrupt Police Officers, and he took my paperwork and took me to some guys house in Carson telling me he was apart of the investigation, and then he kept my money and kept my original paperwork that I was going to turn into Internal Affairs and then he contacted the LBPD Dare Officer/Detective who abused me, and gave him my paperwork, with all of my confidential documentation. The Officer had no business meeting at Royce Esters business because he was already under investigation, Michael Chattom had given me the results of the investigation of the Officer and they were bad, but he never gave me my documents back nor my money and he never responded to my child’s Godfather who was a GrandMason, who asked him for the documents and money back, and told him he had no business getting involved in my matter if he wasn’t who he said he was, nor was going to do what he said he was going too do. We spoke to Royce Esthers, and he said Michael Chattom no longer worked there because he doesn’t run his business that way and he apologized to me, and he even said, he didn’t understand why that LBPD officer came up to his business either, they didn’t know him. I don’t trust any of these organizations, even though they are Black, because when you go against your own and try to destroy your own when they are trying to stand for something that is wrong. I was a young girl at the time, I was in Church doing what I was supposed to do, I was just manipulated by this dishonest Officer and I did make a mistake by being with him, and I paid for that mistake, but the things he did too me were Criminal and he was well known to do what he was doing to me, to others, but I learned it while being with him, and I don’t think anyone is exempt from a complaint regardless of what position you hold in life. For someone to tell me they are a Minister and do what Michael Chattom did, was wrong. I was brought up in the Penecostal Faith, so I do know the way and I’m by no means perfect, but I hate the day I ever met Michael Chattom. He interfered in my situation, claiming to fight against corrupt cops, but I guess a Black Corrupt cop is exempt and can do whatever they want to do to people in the world and get away with it in the world. I will take the situation to my grave and I still too this very day have been fighting to clear my name, because when I asked to be completely out of the situation, my name was slandered by the cop and of course he ran to his buddies and lied and got some special treatment. Michael Chattom was apart of the equation and I have never agreed with it, because he tampered with evidence. Who does that? I will never be apart of a movement. EVER
Not another one of us, R.I.P. My brother I miss you already
This is a big loss for Compton. Mike was so passionate about ‘his’ city and he was constantly speaking out demanding accountability from law enforcement and looking for justice for the families of those murdered in Compton. He will be missed by many.
I’m so hurt. Mike called me yesterday after 3PM, joking with me about Compton politics. We talked for about 15 minutes, laughing. I ended telling him I would talk to him later…later. There will be no later. I will miss his presence in the community, but even moreso, his friendship. He cared. Miss you, Big Mike. I can’t even find the way to tell my daughter. Perhaps, tomorrow.