Nahshon Ratcliff

Nahshon Dion Anderson (born 1978) is an American writer, producer and 2014 recipient of the Bronx Recognizes its own award (BRIO), given by the Bronx Council on the Arts.

Early life

Nahshon was born in the Los Angeles County suburb of Altadena, California and raised as a Jehovah's Witness.^[1] Nahshon's family resided in Pasadena for several years, in an apartment behind Rodney Kings mother, and owned by his cousin Chester Powers. Nahshon was not a stranger to the torture Rodney Glen King endured by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Nahshon's father, Milton Lee Anderson and Rodney King's dad, Ronald King were fishing buddies, and both men passed away in the mid-80's.

From 1995-1996, Nahshon attended John Muir High School in Pasadena with Tashaunna Howard, her godfather Tupac Shakur attended their Prom on June 7 with his personal bodyguard at the Biltmore Hotel In Los Angeles. Nahshon enquired about working in Hollywood, and Tupac directed her to contact Look Here Productions which was producing his music videos at the time ^[2]

Career

Upon taking Tupac's advice in the summer of 1996 Nahshon started off as an intern at Look Hear Productions with Tracy D. Robinson and Gobi M. Rahimi. While attending California State University Los Angeles for two semesters after reading Black Talent News Nahshon started working at The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show as a production assistant in 1997. Nahshon was the production coordinator for hip-hop artists, Russell Simmons' One World Music Beat, Naughty by Nature's music video Jamboree, Master P's film, Da Last Don, and the documentary 1 More Hit by Shauna Garr of Smart Girl Productions.^[1][2]

As an actor, Nahshon appeared in Diana Krall's music video Let's Face the Music, Arrest & Trial, a Nintendo commercial and with Sheryl Crow at the 26th Annual American Music Awards.^[2]

Assault

On July 4, 1997, while cruising near Leimert Park around midnight, Nahshon picked up Ricky Laverne Marshall on Crenshaw and Vernon at a bus stop and drove to Jim Thorpe Park in Hawthorne. While sitting in the car after engaging in the pleasant conversation for half hour things took a turn for the worse. Nahshon was beaten, handcuffed, and had a 380 shoved in her mouth and sustained one gunshot to the left arm. After several gunshots, Ricky fled the scene. After escaping, Nahshon drove to an AM/PM gas station and was taken to Robert F. Kennedy hospital and was asked to identify a possible suspect. Ricky Marshall was apprehended by Hawthorne Police Officers Komathy and Irizibal, while hiding in Jim Thorpe park and sustained a gunshot wound in the leg during the struggle. Nahshon received notice that she might need an amputation. After transported to Martin Luther King Hospital and a second opinion concluded her arm was no longer at risk for amputation.

In the Spring of 1998 Nahshon testified against Marshall and he was found not guilty on all charges. However, Marshall had other felony charges pending and was found guilty and sentenced for the sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 and an adult woman in October 1998. He is currently serving his sentence in California State Prison-Sacramento and is eligible for parole in 2036.^[3]

Arrest

On January 1, 2000, at age 21 Nahshon was dressed in a white chiffon prom dress trimmed with roses and rushed the float ferrying Rose Queen Sophia Bush and her court. Police quickly swarmed, and placed Nahshon under arrest on suspicion of trespassing and disturbing the peace. While led away, Nahshon protested: "I am a queen. I was meant to be on that float."^[4]

Writing

In 2007, Nahshon's former co-worker on The Keenen Ivory Wayan's late night talk show Terrence Dean reached out to Nahshon to rehash old memories and get the most recent scoop on hip-hop and Hollywood. In the summer of 2008, Terrance Dean published his first memoir Hiding in Hip-Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry—from Music to Hollywood. There were several written chapters about Nahshon's personal life and professional life without their consent or knowledge.

Nahshon always knew they had a story worth telling and shortly after relocating to New York City, started taking writing workshop classes at Project Red Umbrella led by Audacia Ray, The Actors Fund of America and the Bronx Writers Center and wrote Shooting Range. Nahshon contributed to the book Bronx Memoir Project: Vol. 1 in 2014.^[5]

Shooting Range

Shooting Range is a reflection of Nahshon own experience as a victim of crime. The manuscript went on to win a grant from the Bronx Council on the Arts.^[3] Nahshon had the manuscript altered into a screenplay and with generous support from California Arts Council ^[6] and The National Arts and Disability Center at the University of California Los Angeles ^[7] was able to produce a fundraising promo. Nahshon believes shooting range will have a meaningful impact on survivors of violent crime and hopes it will create dialog around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.^[5]

References