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Wearing Our Labels

What if all people walked around with labels printed right on their shirt? Can you imagine your community if people literally walked around with who they felt like they were or who other people thought they were printed right on the front of their t-shirts in big bold letters? Things like: addict, adulterer, homeless, gay, trans, atheist, abuser, murderer, thief, liar and on. What if these people walked through the doors of your church with their label stamped right on their forehead? Could you look at these labels and still welcome them? Would you tell them you are glad they are here and shake their hand? COULD YOU LOVE THEM?

In the old days people knew about other people’s lives through local gossip. It could have been shared by talking to the person cutting your hair, the teller at the bank, the teacher at your kids school, and talking to people before and after church. This is how people received their labels. Sometimes it was truth, sometimes it was dramatized for effect. Some people reveled in assigning labels. Some people expressed quiet approval or concern, and some people were quick to pass judgments loudly. But occasionally, there were people who would hear good or bad or concerning news and who would go directly to the victim of the gossip to ask, “How is everything? or “I heard some news” or “Can I help you with...?” 

Nowadays, people put their own lives right out front and online to the world. Through social media, email, text messages, and blogs and whatever else is the favorite share flavor of the day. People still revel in gossip. People continue to do the same thing with what they think they know about other people’s lives. But instead of sharing it at the barber shop, they share it online. People are busy creating labels and assigning labels. Other people’s lives are so much more exciting and interesting to talk about right? Still in our crazy world, there are some who will take the opportunity to utilize the information gained to build genuine relationships with an individual, even if only online. 

But I’ve gotten a little off topic. Let’s talk about wearing our labels and sharing our labels and getting labeled. Let’s talk about wearing false labels like: perfect, righteous, blameless, saintly, and sinless. 

Bare with me because I am about to get spiritual. Jesus has entered the building!

Did you know Jesus hung out with people who had their labels right up front? He sought out and welcomed into his fold those with labels like the adulteress in John 8:1-11, Jesus said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”. Think about it, was Jesus not hung on a cross to die with AND between two men with the label of thief born on their chest? Jesus didn’t die with the saints! He died with the sinners! He died FOR the sinners.

There were a thousand temples in the time of Jesus, a place reserved for the self righteous. Yet God sent Jesus to die for those who were not allowed in the temples. The people God most desired to restore were the those who could no longer live up to the expectations of the pharisees of the temple. The people Jesus engaged with were the sheep who were not part of the flock. 

If we are to be the Christians that Jesus taught us to be, then we are to own our most abhorrent labels. We are to love those whose labels make us uncomfortable. We are to welcome all those and their labels into our church with open arms. We are to worship together. We are to heal together. We are to grow together so that we can ditch those labels! Not because they aren’t part of who we are but because God doesn’t care about labels. He cares about us! He loves us so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ to die for our labels! “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous and for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit;” - 1 Peter 3:18  AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

People have asked me why are you a Christian? I tell them, it is not because of any exclusiveness that has sadly been created by man who is inherently imperfect, it is because of the love of Jesus Christ who is always perfect and loves me and you in spite of all our flaws. I always try to keep this scripture in my mind and heart and my wish is for others struggling with acceptance to do the same. It is that of Mark 12:30-31 who tells us, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ That, “There is no commandment greater than these.”

Own your labels, accept other labels, and then let’s all ditch the labels! 

Amen!

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Finding Garland Moutain

In the early 1900's a clan of southern highlanders put down roots on a mountain in north west Cherokee County, Georgia. Here we get to know the Garland Family and how they came to find what we know today as Garland Mountain.

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About: Finding Garland Mountain

About: Finding Garland Mountain

via About: Finding Garland Mountain

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Let Freedom Ring!

Some Ancestors Who Fought In The American Revolution and/or War of 1812

6th Great Grandfather

Alexander McEntire - Scotsman - American Revolution, NC Militia 

B:26 Oct 1707 in Tryon Rutherford, North Carolina, United States D:1802 in Tryon, North Carolina

5th Great Grandfather

James McEntire, War of 1812

B:1769–D:1818

Captain Francis Logan - Scotsman - SC Militia, American Revolution 

1734–1826

6th great-grandfather

& Son, Moses Logan - War of 1812

1770–1866, 5th great-grandfather

John Brooks - English - American Revolution,Maryland Militia, American Revolution

1725–1790

6th great-grandfather

& Son, William BROOKS, Maryland Militia, American Revolution 

1745–1844

5th great-grandfather

Gutridge Garland - Irish - NC Militia -Revolutionary War

1753–1848

5th great-grandfather

& Son, Samuel Gutridge Garland - War of 1812

1795–1883, 4th Great Grandfather

Morgan Ponder - English - SC Militia - American Revolution 

1720–1800

5th great-grandfather

& Son, Captain Thomas Ponder - SC Militia- American Revolution 

1765–1837

4th great-grandfather

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Be Proud My Sister!

If my sister were alive today, I would put her up on the pedestal that she so much and always deserved. People would come from miles around and throw rainbow colored lays over her head and toss flowers at her feet. I would hand her a giant rainbow flag and we would praise her for the beautiful soul she was. We would yell to her “pride”, “pride”, “pride”. Be proud of who you are my sister! Lift your chin high! Raise your banner into the air! Announce to the world, “yes, I am gay!”, “yes, I am a child of God! I am loved as much as those who have degraded me! Loved more!”, “The hurt the world has caused me for just being me no longer binds me!” and “I no longer need your acceptance!” We would all cheer for her, “PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE”.

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What It’s Like

It would be easiest to just ignore the poor. To blame them for their own lacking, and say it’s because they don’t work, work hard enough, don’t want a better life, or maybe even that they are being punished for their sins. I’ve heard it all. But I have been there. I have lived it. I have played in the junk strewn yard full of other people’s throw-aways. A refrigerator that was set out by the road with a sign, “FREE”, mom and dad brought it home full of hope, cleaned it up, plugged it in, only to find out that it didn’t work. Dad pulled it out and spent a few of his last dollars to try and fix it so mom would have one of those new fridges. The one’s with the ice maker and you could get water through the door. He tried all his tricks, but it was un-repairable. It got pulled out of the house and the old one put back in. But we can’t haul it off because the dump charges extra for these heavy items and dad spent all his money trying to fix it. So it gets left in the yard to be taken off later, put beside the old stove, and washing machine. We like to play on the old stuff. Hide and seek in the fridge, basketball with the washer, and we pretend to be Chef’s with the old stove. Hauling them all off never comes because the money always has to go to something else. A new clutch for the truck or medicine because dad just started having seizures. Momma’s new refrigerator will have to wait so she bangs on the fan on the back of the old one with her broom every time it makes a racket. She gets down in the floor with her lighter and reaches underneath to the back of the stove to light the gas, because that’s broken too. She makes biscuits for breakfast.

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A Little About My Mom: The last of my line to ever live on Garland Mountain.

A Little About My Mom: The last of my line to ever live on Garland Mountain.

(Betty Jean Ponder Whitfield poses in front of my father’s 1950’s Ford)

My mother was born in 1936. She was born during a time called the Great Depression. She was number 4 of five children. My mother’s father was Arthur Ponder and her mother was Sally Garland Ponder. Arthur Ponder was born and raised in a little community of North Georgia called Waleska and Sally Garland was born in Stecoah,…

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Representing The Marginalized of District 21

Melanie Whitfield is committed to the struggles of the poor and dispossessed in Georgia’s State House District 21 and is moved to change things. I will work to address voter suppression laws, including gerrymandering and redistricting, laws that make it harder to register, reduced early voting days and hours, purging voter rolls, and more restrictive voter ID laws. Voter suppression attacks follow a broader pattern of restricting and curtailing democratic processes by drawing on legacies of racism to undermine local efforts to organize for better conditions. Whitfield For House will work with other’s to ensure everyone feels represented. In order to do so we must first demand the immediate full restoration and expansion of the Voting Rights Act, an end to racist gerrymandering and redistricting, early registration of 17 and 18 year olds, the implementation of automatic registration to vote at the age of 18, early voting in every state, same-day registration, the enactment of Election Day as a holiday, and a verifiable paper record. We demand the right to vote for the formerly incarcerated in Georgia. 

Poverty & Inequality

Whitfield For House rejects the idea that our economy rewards hard-working individuals and, therefore, if only the millions of people in poverty acted better, worked harder, complained less and prayed more, they would be lifted up and out of their miserable conditions. According to The Poor People’s Campaign, beginning in the 1970′s, wages for the bottom 80 percent of workers have remained largely stagnant and today there are 64 million people working for less than $15 an hour. This has made life particularly difficult for the people of District 21 who have seen housing prices increase by 20% since 2012 but wages have increased by only 4%. Meanwhile, the top 1 percent’s share of the economy has nearly doubled to more than 20 percent of our national income. In 2017, the 400 wealthiest Americans owned more wealth than the bottom 64 percent of the entire U.S. population, or 204 million people. Just three individuals possessed a combined wealth of $248.5 billion, an equal amount of wealth as the bottom 50 percent of the country. These numbers are reflected in the deep economic divides with Cherokee County and District 21. Over the past 30 years, rents have gone up faster than income in nearly every urban area of the country. In 2016, there was no state or county in the nation where someone earning the federal minimum wage could afford a 2-bedroom apartment at market rent. Only one in four of those eligible to receive federal housing assistance actually do so. This has precipitated a structural housing crisis. In short, our public resources are not reaching the people who need them. Given the absence of good jobs and a strong social safety net, millions of people are left to fend for themselves.

Melanie Whitfield For Georgia State House District 21 believes that the thousands of poor people in Georgia today are poor because the wealth and resources of our state have been flowing to a small number of people and federal & state programs that are not meeting the growing needs of the poor. Everybody has the right to live. The U.S. Constitution was established to “promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” Given the abundance that exists in this country and the fundamental dignity inherent to all humanity, every person in the United States has the right to dignified jobs and living wages, housing, education, health care, welfare, and the right to organize for the realization of these rights.

Key Points To Remember

Support the implementation of federal and state living wage laws that are commensurate for the 21st century economy, guaranteed annual incomes, full employment and the right for all workers to form and join unions.

End to anti-union and anti-workers’ rights laws in the states.

Demand equal pay for equal work.

Demand fully-funded welfare programs for the poor and an end to the attacks on SNAP, TANF and other vital programs for the poor.

Demand equity in education, ensuring every child receives a high-quality, well-funded, diverse public education. We demand an end to the re-segregation of schools. Work towards free tuition at public colleges and universities and an end to profiteering on student debt.

Expand Medicaid in Georgia and the protection of Medicare. Encourage single-payer universal health care for all.

Fully fund public resources and access to mental health professionals and addiction and recovery programs.

Reinvest in and the expansion of public housing, ensuring that all have a decent house to live in.

Equal treatment and accessible housing, health care, public transportation, adequate income and services for people with disabilities.

Public infrastructure projects and sustainable, community-based and controlled economic initiatives that target poor urban and rural communities.

Fair and decent housing for all and the end to the rolling back of fair housing protections at HUD.

Relief from crushing household, student, and consumer debt.

Wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of our country’s urgent needs around decent and affordable housing, free public education, a robust social safety net and social security.

Encourage the repeal of the 2017 federal tax law and the reinvestment of those funds into public programs for housing, health care, education, jobs, infrastructure and welfare for the poor.

Work towards passing policies and budget allocations that would end child poverty. This includes a public hearing on the federal and state institutions charged with child safety and protection, including on how their resources are used to take children away rather than strengthening families.

Sources: Poor People’s Campaign, US Bureau For Labor Statistics, GA Department of Labor, Bernie Sanders, US Census Bureau, ACLU

For more information visit Whitfield For House.

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Melanie Whitfield is the Democratic Candidate for Georgia State House Representative, District 21. District 21 is located in Cherokee County, Georgia and includes the cities of Holly Springs, Canton, and Woodstock. 

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The 2018 Georgia Democratic State Dinner

Last month I had the opportunity to do something I never imagined I would have the opportunity to do. I attended the 2018 Georgia Democratic State Dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia. As the VIP Guest of Ms. Kathy Fowler, President of the Local 10, UAW and Democratic Candidate for Georgia State House Representative for District 21, I literally received a front row seat to Democracy in action.

If anyone had asked me one year ago if I would be going to the State Dinner I would have been totally aloof as to what they were talking about. What a difference a year makes. I am thankful and blessed to have had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Sarah Riggs Amico, Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor. I was honored to stand on the same stage as over 100 other Democratic Candidates running for office in Georgia with the dream of bringing hope to the under-represented of our state. A surreal movement to bring “the blue wave” to Georgia. It was amazing to hear Senator Doug Jones of Alabama stand just a few feet away from me and speak about his life and journey to the U.S. Capitol. The highlight of my evening was experiencing in person the incredible Stacey Abrams, Democratic Candidate for Georgia Governor. Mrs. Abrams was on fire with her encouraging words of moving Georgia forward for everyone, not just the special interest of a few. Stacy’s heartfelt desire for change in Georgia spread like flames throughout the room of public servants who were all there to make tomorrow better than today.

I will never forget this incredible opportunity. I will strive to let every person in my small life and as many Georgians as I can know that dreams like these do come true. They came true for me and they can come true for you!

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A Gun Sense Candidate

As a Moms Demand Action Certified Gun Sense Candidate, Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House Representative - District 21 seeks to bring sensible gun reform to the Georgia Legislature. Universal Criminal Background Checks on all gun sales must be enacted. We must close the loophole in federal law that makes it easy for criminals who are prohibited from having guns to buy them from unlicensed sellers (such as those met online or at a gun show, who are not required to run criminal background checks on the strangers they sell guns to.)

Since instant background checks on gun purchases at licensed dealers went into effect in 1998, more than 3 million gun sales to convicted felons, domestic abusers and people with dangerous mental illnesses have been prevented. But because the law only requires background checks on sales at licensed gun dealers, 1 in 5 gun sales occur outside of the system, between unlicensed individuals. Research shows that felons, domestic abusers and other people with dangerous histories are taking advantage of this loophole to avoid a background check by purchasing firearms from unlicensed sellers — such as those often found online or at a gunshow — no questions asked. 

Criminal background checks on firearm purchases are a quick and easy process to determine if a buyer is prohibited by federal or state law from purchasing a firearm. When a person tries to buy a gun from a licensed dealer, the dealer runs their information through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which instantly checks to see if the person is prohibited from having guns under federal or state law. Under current federal law, background checks are only required on buyers at licensed firearms dealers, not sales between individuals who meet online or at gun shows. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to close this loophole, but until we make criminal background checks on all gun sales federal law, it will be too easy for criminals to purchase guns. For more information check out the research from Everytown .

Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House Representative - District 21 seeks to keep guns out of the hands of Domestic Abusers.  Enacting laws to prohibit gun possession by convicted domestic abusers and abusers under active restraining orders, and ensuring that there is a clear process in place for abusers who become prohibited from having firearms to turn in the guns they already possess. In addition, closing the “boyfriend loophole” to ensure that all domestic abusers are prohibited from having guns, whether or not they have been married to their victims, and ensuring that convicted stalkers are prohibited from having guns. 

The vast majority of women killed with guns in the United States are killed by intimate partners or family members and the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it five times more likely that a woman will be killed. Closing these loopholes would protect victims of domestic violence and the public and help save lives. No one believes domestic abusers should have the ability to use guns to terrorize their victims and as long as domestic abusers and other dangerous people can keep guns they already own, public safety is at risk. Research shows that states that restrict access to guns by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders — including dating partners — see a 10 percent reduction in intimate partner gun homicides. 

Existing federal law prohibits gun possession by convicted domestic abusers and abusers under restraining orders, but only if they are or have been married to the woman they abuse, cohabit, or have a child together. 

When states pass laws that match the federal prohibitions on gun possession by domestic abusers, it enables state and local law enforcement and prosecutors to enforce the law and bring abusers to justice if they have guns illegally. Finally, if state law establishes a clear gun relinquishment procedure, it ensures that when a domestic abuser becomes prohibited from having guns, he can’t simply leave court and go home to the guns he already has. Since 2013, 25 states have enacted 39 separate bills to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. The vast majority were bipartisan, and many were signed by Republican governors including Robert Bentley, Mike Pence, Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Gary Herbert, and Scott Walker. Click here for more information from Everytown on the correlation between Domestic Abuse and Gun Violence.

Red Flag Laws are one important step to affecting a reduction in gun violence in Georgia.  When a person is in crisis and at risk of harming themselves or others, family members or law enforcement often become aware of “red flag warnings.” Red Flag Laws allow a family member or law enforcement official to ask a court for an extreme risk protection order to temporarily suspend access to guns by a person who poses a threat to him or herself or others.

Mass shooters often display warning signs before committing violent acts. Red Flag Laws also address another American gun violence epidemic — firearm suicide, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of gun deaths in the United States. Reducing a suicidal person’s access to firearms can save lives. Nine out of ten suicide attempts with a gun result in death. By contrast, most people who attempt suicide by other means live — and do not eventually die by suicide. A 2017 study of Connecticut’s Red Flag Law found that the law has already averted an estimated 72 or more suicides. 

By creating a legal process to obtain an extreme risk protection order to remove guns from a dangerous situation, Red Flag Laws provide an opportunity to intervene before a tragedy occurs. While a short-term emergency order may be issued by a court when a person poses an immediate danger, anyone subject to long-term orders is able to participate in a hearing and have due process before a judge before any ruling is made by a court. 

Bump Stocks should be banned. Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House Representative - District 21 believes that all States should prohibit bump stocks and other devices that allow people to skirt long standing federal law and essentially convert semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic weapons.

In the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, the shooter used bump stock devices attached to multiple firearms to kill 58 people and injure hundreds at a music festival in Las Vegas, NV. Since Las Vegas, the states have stepped in where Congress has failed to lead. Massachusetts and New Jersey have recently passed bills to prohibit bump stocks. Both bills were signed by Republican Governors. And, new proposals to prohibit bump stocks have been introduced in red and blue states around the country. We must act to close gaps that allow firearm accessories to effectively convert rifles into fully automatic weapons, which have no sporting or hunting purpose.

Automatic weapons — commonly known as machine guns — have been tightly regulated in the U.S. since the 1930s. However, gun manufacturers have exploited gaps in the law to sell bump stocks and dozens of other devices and workarounds, such as trigger cranks and drop-in triggers, that circumvent existing regulations and effectively make rifles into nearly automatic weapons.

Gun Violence in America is an epidemic. It’s time to fund Gun Violence Prevention Research. Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House Representative - District 21 supports publicly funded, objective and data-driven scientific research that seeks to determine and address the causes of gun violence, its consequences for public health and common-sense solutions. 

We know that data-driven research is the best way to find common-sense policies that reduce gun violence — and reduce the fervor and tenor of the conversation on how to increase gun safety in America. If we don’t recognize the American gun crisis as a public health problem, and study it as one, we will never be able to solve it. 

The gun lobby has long stood in the way of scientific research on how gun violence affects public health, and the best objective policies to reduce it. Since 2003, the gun lobby has successfully imposed restrictions on how local governments and elected officials can use and share the information they gather about guns used in crimes — hampering the ability to find data driven solutions to address the causes of gun violence that plague our communities. Everytown offers further reading.

Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House - District 21 believes that Permitless Carry is a threat to public safety. The gun lobby’s top state legislative priority, “Permitless Carry” bills seek to dismantle a state’s concealed carry permit requirement and let people carry concealed handguns in public with no permit, no criminal record check, and no safety training.

Permitless carry dramatically lowers the bar for who can carry a concealed handgun in public, to include in some cases violent criminals and weapons offenders, teenagers, and people who have no firearm safety training. Unsurprisingly, states that pass this legislation see substantial increases in firearms violence — in Alaska, the annual number of aggravated assaults with a firearm increased by 81% since permitless went into effect, and in Arizona the increase was 44%.

The vast majority of states require a person to get a permit before they can legally carry a concealed handgun in public. Permits ensure that core public safety standards are preserved when people carry concealed guns in public places, such as making sure applicants have completed handgun safety training and giving law enforcement the ability to deny a permit to people who pose a danger to the community. Read more from Everytown on Permitless Carry.

Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House Representative - District 21 believes that all students and teachers must feel secure from Gun Violence. We must keep guns out of schools and off college campuses.  Recently, the gun lobby has focused on state laws that would force colleges, universities and K-12 schools to allow guns on their campuses, despite the opposition of educators, administrators and law enforcement. Georgia’s Campus Carry Law is just one example of such legislation that must be reversed. Going back to our Founding Fathers, our nation has a rich history of keeping guns out of our K-12 schools and universities. Educators and law enforcement officials agree that the presence of guns in schools increases the risk of harm from unintentional shootings and conflicts that escalate, and that it shouldn’t be up to our children, or their teachers or professors, to act as sharpshooters in the event of an emergency. Everytown provides additional reading regarding Guns On Campus.

The illegal gun market must be aggressively addressed. Gun trafficking is the process by which guns are diverted from legal channels into the illegal market, and most often occurs when guns that are bought in states with weaker gun laws are then transported to states with stronger gun laws. 

Gun trafficking is exacerbated by straw purchases, when someone knowingly buy guns for people who cannot legally purchase them on their own. Together, straw gun purchases and interstate gun trafficking undermine and circumvent state public safety laws.

Shockingly, there is no existing federal law that specifically and effectively makes gun trafficking a federal crime. ATF agents have even testified to Congress that existing federal laws against gun trafficking are “toothless” and make it “difficult to obtain convictions.” Everytown has provided additional information on Illegal Gun Trafficking.

It is important to note that as a gun owner herself, Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House - District 21 is a staunch 2nd Amendment Supporter and promotes responsible gun storage and gun owners.  The 2nd Amendment upholds common-sense gun ownership, including securing all guns in one’s home and vehicles, modeling responsible behavior around guns, asking about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes, recognizing the risks of teen suicide and encouraging one’s peers to responsibly store and secure their firearms. 

Responsible gun storage is a public safety issue. Almost 1.7 million U.S. children live in homes with firearms that are both unlocked and loaded. Every year, nearly 300 children age 17 and under gain access to a gun and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else, and nearly 500 more die by suicide with a gun. Many of these deaths are entirely preventable with responsible gun storage. 

Studies show that no matter what you tell kids, they’re most likely to pick up the gun. The responsibility is always on adults to store guns responsibly. These are preventable tragedies, not accidents. Start a gun ownership conversation with you friends, family, and neighbors by using the Be S.M.A.R.T. guide.

Information provided by Moms Demand Action and Everytown. As always, Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House Representative - District 21 values your question and feedback. Feel free to email her personally.

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On June 1, 2018 Melanie Whitfield for Georgia State House - District 21 attended the LUNA Families Belong Together Rally outside the US Immigration Courts in Atlanta. 

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The need to “go bold” with bigger minimum wage increases calls for a more standard policy evaluation framework that assesses the costs and benefits for low-wage workers rather than a singular focus on potential employment losses.

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Police & Crime

Melanie Whitfield For Georgia State House Representative - District 21 in Canton, Georgia fully supports law enforcement and public safety. We should always look to improve where we can. I have researched the following information and agree with these suggestions regarding police and crime.

1) Stricter alcohol policies - Studies show alcohol is a factor in 40 percent of violent crimes, double the alcohol tax, revokes people’s right to drink if a court deems it necessary after an alcohol-related offense; 2) Hot-spot policing - Focusing police to a very small subset of places, down to the street and block level, to drive out most of the crime. So deploying police, intelligently, in these specific areas can have a big impact on fighting crime and violence.3) Focused deterrence policing - Hones in on specific problems in a community, such as drug dealing, generally violent behavior, gangs, or gun violence. It then focuses on the individuals and groups who drive most of that activity, particularly those with criminal records and those involved in gang activity; 4) Raise the age or grade for dropping out of school - Studies have found that kids that drop out of school were more likely to commit a felony offense by age 19; 5) Behavioral intervention programs - Conflict Management & Resolution Programs that use interventions, based on cognitive behavioral principles, to teach youth how to react in encounters that can turn violent.; 6) Eliminate blighted housing - researchers found fixing up abandoned and vacant buildings have led to significant drops in overall crimes, total assaults, gun assaults, and nuisance crimes. 7) Require Police Sensitivity Training 8) Eliminate Police Brutality - Change the culture from the top-down, systemic reform of the police organization itself. This includes introducing community policing; training officers in de-escalation skills and the use of non-lethal tactics; increasing the diversity of departments; improving data collection and public transparency; and enhancing the screening of police recruits.

For more information on Melanie Whitfield For State House.

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Interview With Joe Garland, Part 2: The Family Steer

Interview With Joe Garland, Part 2: The Family Steer

Buster Garland (Samuel McDaniel Garland Jr. or MD) tallest male, back row holding horse on the left side. Samuel McDaniel Garland Sr., (the patriarch of the Garland’s of Garland Mountain, Cherokee County, Georgia) front row, all the way to left. This photo was made in Tuskegee-Stecoah, Graham County, North Carolina. Just before the family moved south into Georgia, to Garland Mountain. 

Part 2 of…

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Oral history of Garland Mountain, Georgia as given by Joe Garland if Canton, Georgia.