Martin Eakes is one of the real good guys in this world.  He's been an advocate for the poor, starting Self Help in 1980 with $77 raised in a bake sale and eventually providing financing to 50,000 home buyers who were considered higher risks by traditional lenders.  He was also instrumental in the creation of the N.C. Coalition for Responsible Lending which pushed North Carolina to be the first state to pass an anti-predatory mortgage lending law in 1999.

Last week Eakes was jumped by four guys in a parking garage near his office in Durham.  The beating left him with a severed left bicep, a torn hamstring and 15 stitches in his forehead.  His nephew Patrick Eakes tells all about it here and it sounds like Martin is on the mend.  Here's hoping for a quick recovery for one of the real good guys.