Usher’s ex-wife Tameka Foster is honoring her late son, Kile Glover, by fighting for change with an online petition calling to drain, clean, restore and improve safety measures at Lake Lanier.
Foster shared a screenshot of the petition on July 6 — the anniversary of the fatal jet ski accident Glover, 11, was involved in on the reservoir in 2012 while on a family vacation. Glover fought for his life for two weeks before succumbing to his injuries. She shared it with her Instagram followers the same day.
“On this significant day, July 6, we remember the tragic accident on Lake Lanier that forever altered my life. My courageous son, Kile Glover, fought for two weeks with unwavering strength until his passing on July 21. Today, we honor his memory by rallying together for change,” Foster stated in her caption.
She continued, “Let’s ensure a safer future by demanding improved safety measures, better zoning, and the removal of haunted debris from the lake.”
Foster, who shares two children with her R&B legend ex-husband, said she created the petition because of the history of people that are still dying on the man-made lake, which supplies much of the drinking water to metro Atlanta. It was created after local officials decided to flood a vast amount of farmland, including the remains of a once-thriving Black town called Oscarville, in the 1950s.
According to a report by Atlanta station WXIA, after a white woman was found dead in 1912 near Oscarville, white mobs burned, lynched, murdered, and forced the town’s Black residents off their land. Many were skilled blacksmiths, bricklayers, carpenters, and farmers, historian Lisa Crosby said.
The white residents took over the remaining lands. In the 1950s when government officials wanted to form the lake to provide electricity and water to surrounding communities, CNN reported over 700 families sold over 56,000 acres to the government to make way for the reservoir.
Many believe they were not only paid less than the land was worth, but there were also cemeteries and other structures, including the former Oscarville, that were flooded in the name of progress.
For this reason, many believe Lake Lanier is haunted and cursed as hundreds of people have lost their lives on the lake. In 2020, fans even cautioned Trina Braxton to get off the lake after she shared she was there for a day of fun out of concern for her safety.
Foster agrees that Lake Lanier, which borders several counties in suburbs north of Atlanta, “has a really dark history.”
Referencing Oscarville, she said, “They don’t care about your past, your history, your job, none of that.” In a video she posted this week to Instagram explaining why she started her petition, Foster said she does not like manmade bodies of water and only ever visited Lake Lanier “when they gave my son a law.”
The Kile Glover Boat Education Law was signed by Georgia’s governor in 2013. The law reduced the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.10 to 0.08 and increased the penalties for hunting or boating while under the influence.
The law also requires individuals to complete a boating education course before operating personal watercraft and increased the age requirement for wearing a personal flotation device from 10 to 13 years old.
Foster admitted she thought the law would help bring about positive change, however, noted it wasn’t enough. “Since the law has been passed there’s still been fatalities and there’s still people who are missing. That lake is just tragic,” she continued.
She also said she believes all of the debris at the bottom of the lake is the reason the current is so strong and the lake continues to claim the lives of visitors.
“I feel that the lake needs to be cleared. … This is an expensive exercise, but I know that our government has the money,” Foster said.
Over the years, Foster said she’s attempted to sue over her son’s death caused by the lake, but no lawyer will take on the case. “Everybody’s really scared of that s—t because it’s covered by something called sovereign immunity,” Foster said. “But I still say, ‘So what because that’s my son.’”
At the time of this writing, the petition had garnered more than 740 signatures. The goal is 1,000.
To sign Foster’s petition, click here.
