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VOLUME 25 NUMBER 12
JUNE 21 2019 Stay connected
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Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties
“When They See Us” shines spotlight on injustice, local leaders react By Sarita Mason For On Common Ground News By the time people got home from work on the East Coast, the documentary, “When They See Us,” had shot to No. 1 and it stayed there all night, said Director Ava DuVernay. The four-part trending Netflix series has sparked renewed demands for criminal justice reform locally and throughout the country. The documentary re-enacts the lives of five boys ages 14 to 16 who became known as the Central Park Five, after they were wrongfully convicted of the rape of a white jogger in New York City in 1989. All five were exonerated on Dec. 19, 2002 after Matias Reyes, a convicted murderer and rapist, admitted that he alone was responsible for the attack as well as another rape near Central Park days earlier, according to The Innocence Project. State Rep. Doreen Carter, whose District 92 includes parts of DeKalb County and Rockdale County, said she was extremely disturbed by the film, which she says must serve as a wake-up call for parents. “I have three sons of my own and I have had to have another whole conversation about how they should interact with the police,” Carter said. “Seeing how those boys were coerced into making untrue statements under the guise that they would be allowed to go home if they cooperated, we have to tell our children to keep their mouths closed and do not admit to anything that they have not done.” Carter said corrupt law enforce-
State Rep. Doreen Carter
State Rep. Billy Mitchell
DeKalb NAACP President Teresa Hardy
Orrin Hudson
Mae D. Johnson
Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock
ment and those in the judicial system also should be held accountable for their actions. Four of the teens in the Central Park Five case—Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray and Raymond Santana—spent between 5 to 10 years incarcerated. Korey Wise, the only one tried as an adult,
served 12 years in prison. The Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that exonerates people who are wrongfully convicted through DNA testing, helped the men to receive compensation for time served. The men received a $41 million settlement from the City of New York in 2014—30 years after their conviction. Kee Strane, a Conyers business owner who has two sons, ages 14 and 20, said there is no amount of money that can replace what the men lost as children. “As soon as I heard what it was about, I couldn't stand to watch it. I know they suffered a lot and it's really sad that they missed so much of their lives. Teresa Hardy, president of the DeKalb branch of the NAACP, said the movie was difficult to watch but it “had to happen.” “The scariest part of the movie was when the boys were taken in for questioning and didn’t have a clue as to what their first right was as a citizen: You have a right to remain silent and rights to a lawyer and attorney,” said Hardy. “The fact that they weren’t knowledgeable means we have work to do. We must transform our community by educating our youth and ourselves on issues like these.” Orrin Hudson, motivational speaker and founder of Be Someone, a DeKalb County-based mentoring program, said the judicial system must be overhauled. “I think that black males have caught hell in the judicial system. For many years, the black man has been executed in the courtroom.
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Gregory B. Levett and wife, Betty Levett
Master mortician, businessman Gregory B. Levett receives honorary PhD By Mackenzie N. Morgan For nearly 40 years, Gregory B. Levett, Sr., founder of Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Home, has been helping metro-Atlanta families celebrate the lives and memories of their loved ones. The community recently came together to celebrate a new milestone for Levett who recently received an honorary doctoral degree from Allen University, located in Columbia, SC, for his hard work as a businessman and philanthropist in the community. Levett, who was nominated by his pastor, the Rev. Dr. William D. Watley of Saint Philip AME Church in Atlanta, said he was surprised and delighted when he found out about the prestigious honor. “It’s indescribable. I had limited education and got a lot of my education from training and experience,” said Levett, a third-generation funeral home owner who is a native of Conyers, Georgia. Read the full story inside On Common Ground News’ Churches Now special section.
GOV. KEMP ANNOUNCES TWO APPOINTMENTS Gov. Brian P. Kemp announced two appointments, selecting Tadia D. Whitner to serve on the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit Superior Court and Jessica M. Simmons to serve as Deputy Commissioner at the Georgia Department of Revenue. Kemp said Whitner brings “invaluable leadership and legal expertise” to the bench having served as a prosecutor, private attorney, and judge for municipal and juvenile court. “… I am honored to appoint her to the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit Superior Court where I am confident that she will govern her
Tadia D. Whitner
courtroom with the utmost integrity and impartiality,” Kemp said in a news release.
Jessica M. Simmons
Whitner received her bachelor’s and law degrees from Howard University then went on to serve as
an attorney and earned the rank of Captain in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. Following her military service, Whitner prosecuted cases for the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice and Florida Office of the Attorney General, represented clients through the Savannah Office of the Public Defender, and served as a staff attorney for the Chatham County Juvenile Court. From 2009 to 2011, Whitner was a solo practitioner at the Whitner Law Firm and later became the managing partner of Porter and Whitner Law Group, P.C. Whitner also served as
an associate judge for the Municipal Court of Snellville and a juvenile court judge for Gwinnett County. She is a member of Leadership Georgia’s Class of 2019 and involved in the Air Force Association, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Georgia Association of Women Attorneys, Gwinnett County Bar Association, National Council of Negro Women, and United Way of Greater Metro Atlanta. She is also a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett’s Class of 2018 and award recipient, including Howard University Alumni Association - Atlanta Chapter’s “Distinguished
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