Serving DeKalb & Metro Atlanta Volume 16 Number 20
www.ocgnews.com
Some brave icey weather to work
January 15, 20111
FREE
Cheerleading Champs
By Valerie J. Morgan While everyone, except emergency workers, was safe at home, Kenley Waller met Atlanta’s ice storm head-on. Waller, who owns Kenley’s Catering, left his Stone Mountain home and headed to his downtown Atlanta restaurant to prepare and deliver the catering order he had received. After making a dinner delivery to workers at a box manufacturing plant, Waller thought he’d head for home. He never made it, though. He spent the night sleeping on the floor at his restaurant, which is located at 75 Piedmont Avenue in downtown Atlanta. “I left at 8:30 p.m. Sunday thinking I could make it home, but the snow started coming down on I-20 and I knew I couldn’t,” said Waller. “I got off the exit and went to the restaurant.” Waller said he made a pallet out of two cardboard signs and slept in the jacket he wore. That was Sunday, the day the storm hit. He spent Monday and Tuesday night there, too. Waller kept the restaurant running both days by himself. After delivering catering jobs like the 100 Georgia Power employees that he served, Waller cooked for students from nearby Georgia State University who dropped by the restaurant. For more on the story, visit www.ocgnews.com.
Ellenwood All Stars earn high marks. Photos by Raymond Hagans special to OCG NEWS
T
he Ellenwood All Stars cheerleading teams lived up to their name and made their training school proud: The teams took home first place titles in nine of 10 division competitions that were held recently during the World Spirit Federation A Town Championship at the Gwinnett Arena. “This is one of the biggest wins that we’ve ever had. To win first place in that many categories is outstanding,” said Avis Jett, the school’s CEO. Jett opened the school 11 years ago. The teams, which are
comprised of girls and boys ages 3 through college, have won numerous competitions for their showmanship and training. What’s next? The Ellenwood All Stars will head to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras competition. After that, they will go up against some of the best teams in the nation at the National Cheerleading Association competition Feb. 2528 in Dallas, Texas. You can visit the Ellenwood All Stars on Facebook. To view more photos of the team, visit ocgnews.com.
Scott sisters finally freed—NAACP continues push for justice By Ben Wrobel National NAACP
National NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous stands with sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott.
Jamie Scott, 38, and Gladys Scott, 36, are starting life anew. The two sisters, who walked out of prison on Jan. 7—16 years after being sentenced to double life sentences in Mississippi—are catching up with their mother, the children they left behind, including one who was born while they were in prison, and the four grandchildren they now have between them. The family lives in Pensacola, FL. The NAACP and civil rights groups say the Scotts’ double-life sentences as first-time offenders for a crime in which no one was hurt are indicative of the egregious sentencing that still exists in the American criminal justice system. The Scotts’ release by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was hailed as a long-
overdue victory for justice, as well as an example of a governor using his commutation powers to right a wrong. “I have no doubt that the reason the governor let them out is that this is a grave injustice,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, who advocated on the sisters’ behalf. “We need more days like this in Mississippi. We need more days like this in this country.” The sisters’ release marks the end of a grassroots campaign led by a coalition of concerned individuals and groups, including the women’s family, their attorney Chokwe Lumumba, the national NAACP and the Mississippi NAACP State Conference. Supporters from around the country brought attention to the sisters’ imprisonment and petitioned Gov. Barbour for their freedom. “This is a result of all of the individuals across this state and across the country who saw injustice in what was taking place and gave voice to it,” stated Mississippi NAACP State Conference President Derrick Johnson. “This is a great day to let us know that if we stick together, work together, we can make mighty things happen.” “They have served more time than they should have served,” Lumumba said. The Scott sisters were arrested on Christmas Eve 1993, when Jamie was 21, and Gladys was 19 and pregnant.
They were condemned for a first-time offense in which no one was hurt and court records maintain that little more than $10 was stolen. The sisters were convicted of luring two men to be robbed by three teen boys. The boys, who said the sisters were the masterminds behind the robbery, each received eight years and served less than three. The sisters maintained their innocence. While in prison, Jamie, who has diabetes and kidney failure, lost use of both of her kidneys. Gov. Barbour freed Jamie and her sister on the condition that Gladys donate a kidney to Jamie. Jamie’s care costs the state of Mississippi more than $200,000 while she was imprisoned. After leaving prison, the sisters returned to Pensacola, FL, where their mother and children now live. Jamie has three children, ages 23, 20 and 17, and two grandchildren, ages 5 and 3. Gladys has two children, ages 22 and 15, and two grandchildren, ages 7 and 4. Jealous said that the NAACP will continue to ensure that the sisters receive the best medical care available, and Lumumba said that he would help the sisters seek a full pardon. “Our next step is to ensure that the sisters get the health care that they need, and ultimately, the full pardon they deserve,” stated Jealous. According to Jealous, the sisters’
release speaks to the urgent need for the work the NAACP and their allies are doing to encourage governors to use their clemency powers to advance justice. He says that for more than a century the NAACP has pushed governors and presidents publicly and privately to use their clemency powers to advance justice. “The case of the Scott sisters gives hope to others who are unjustly imprisoned,” stated Jealous. “During the past few weeks, two governors released black Americans who had been railroaded by our nation’s criminal justice system. One week before the Scott sisters were released, New York Gov. David Paterson commuted the sentence of John White, a man who was defending his family. We hope that this trend continues in other cases, such as the case of John McNeil, a Georgia man who was given a life sentence for defending his home.” On Common Ground News’ staff contributed to this report. INSIDE
Community News........................... P 3 Business News............................... P 7 Health & Wellness........................... P 9 We Worship.................................. P 10 Classifieds................................... P 11 CONTACT THE NEWSROOM Phone: (678) 526-1910 n Fax: (678) 526-1909 E-mail: editor@ocgnews.com