On Monday, the 19th of November, on WVEE’s Porsche Foxx show, Sisters in Law™ discussed children and the law. One caller indicated that she was considering referring her 13 year old son to Juvenile Court for "unruliness." He refused to obey, was insolent, not doing his best in school. Davida and I both cautioned against this move, except perhaps as a last resort. A black female police officer called in to echo our advice. Reporting your child to the court system engages the entire family in the court process, disrupts family relationships and may subject your child to unwanted and unwarranted intrusion for months or years.
What to do then? Contact your church, enroll your child in sports, music or art classes. If you are not going to church, start. Church provides a basic framework to help children understand the difference between right and wrong. Making that distinction on their own avoids the need to have the courts do it for them.
Ask male family members for support. Increase the amount of visitation you permit the child’s father. Consider sending your errant son/daughter to live with his/her father for awhile, if that is feasible. Children act out as one way of expressing the need for more attention. It was not surprising that the vast majority of our recent calls came from families with four or more children.
What is the child interested in? Find a structured program that speaks to that interest. There are lots of mentoring programs offered in Metro Atlanta. Some of the best Metro Atlanta mentoring programs are listed below.
100 Black Men of DeKalb County
1804 Bouldercrest Road, SE • Suite 700 • Atlanta, GA 30316 Phone: 404.288.2772 Fax: 404.288.0107 Email: info@dekalb100blackmen.orgExecutive Director/COO • Mae Jones • mailto:mjones@dekalb100blackmen.org
Hank Stewart Foundation
http://www.thestewartfoundation.com/contactus.html
(404) 328-0095
Frank Ski Kids Foundation
http://www.frankskikids.org/contact/
217-9 16th Street Atlanta, GA 30363404.870.0230 – phone 404.870.0240 – fax
Big Brothers Big Sisters
100 Edgewood Ave NE # 710, Atlanta
(404) 527-7600
www.bbbsatl.org
Another Way Out, Inc.
1180 Utoy Springs Rd. Atlanta,Georgia 30331Office: 404-349-4712 Fax: 404-349-4838
Nydia Bright, Program Coordinatoremail: awoinc@mindspring.com
Atlanta Youth Coalition
Dominic Stokes
(678) 438 5051
It was interesting to me that virtually every caller had at least four children, the dad was not actively involved, the mom was working and the child was 13-14 years old. Look around. Find a child. Lend a hand. We can all do something to help.
And then, we need to have the difficult discussion about deciding to become a parent. If he already has kids he is not supporting, don't get pregnant. If you are a teen-ager, don't get pregnant. If you already have two or more children and no committed mate, don't get pregnant. If you are already having a hard time making ends meet, don’t get pregnant. If you have not finished high school - don’t get pregnant. If you are single, two kids are probably enough. Birth control is more effective, cheap and available than ever.
Take a hard look at marriage. Men who make the commitment of marriage are generally better fathers and pay child support at a much higher rate even when the marriage does not work out. 70% of black children are born out of wedlock. Moms may not want/need a husband, but children need committed dads. Girls need dads as much as boys do. As the discussion on Monday graphically revealed, rebellion just after puberty is typical - not extraordinary. The question is how do we marshal sufficient resources to deal with this natural phenomenon?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
WHO ARE WE?
WHO ARE WE?
Davida Mathis is a lawyer in private practice in Greenville, South Carolina, focusing her practice on domestic relations and criminal defense. Previously, she served as an Assistant Solicitor prosecuting drug crimes and other serious felonies. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of South Carolina. Davida has also managed several political and issue-oriented campaigns. She and her sister, Janice developed a radio program, Sisters in Law, which is broadcast with Porsche Foxx on The Big Station - WVEE, 103.3, Atlanta. As a member of the steering committee of the Greenville Chapter of Rainbow PUSH, Davida devised strategy to achieve recognition of the King Holiday. Davida is an accomplished musician and vocalist; she is married to Thaddeus Allen and they have one daughter, Avery.
Janice Mathis is Vice President of the Citizenship Education Fund and is executive director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition regional office in Atlanta. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and as Special Assistant Attorney General for Child Support Enforcement in Georgia. Janice and several other partners founded a private general law practice in Athens, Georgia where she was the firm's managing partner and specialized in civil litigation, consumer bankruptcy, real estate and probate law. Janice is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Georgia. She has been appointed to several corporate diversity councils and is a former board member of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Janice is married to Harry K. Johnson and they have two adult children.
Davida Mathis is a lawyer in private practice in Greenville, South Carolina, focusing her practice on domestic relations and criminal defense. Previously, she served as an Assistant Solicitor prosecuting drug crimes and other serious felonies. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of South Carolina. Davida has also managed several political and issue-oriented campaigns. She and her sister, Janice developed a radio program, Sisters in Law, which is broadcast with Porsche Foxx on The Big Station - WVEE, 103.3, Atlanta. As a member of the steering committee of the Greenville Chapter of Rainbow PUSH, Davida devised strategy to achieve recognition of the King Holiday. Davida is an accomplished musician and vocalist; she is married to Thaddeus Allen and they have one daughter, Avery.
Janice Mathis is Vice President of the Citizenship Education Fund and is executive director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition regional office in Atlanta. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and as Special Assistant Attorney General for Child Support Enforcement in Georgia. Janice and several other partners founded a private general law practice in Athens, Georgia where she was the firm's managing partner and specialized in civil litigation, consumer bankruptcy, real estate and probate law. Janice is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Georgia. She has been appointed to several corporate diversity councils and is a former board member of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Janice is married to Harry K. Johnson and they have two adult children.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Legal
Sisters in Law provides general legal opinions and information. The opinions and information found on this site and on the Sisters in Law radio program are no substitute for individualized legal counsel. If you believe that you have a legal issue, you are advised to consult a competent attorney of your choice. The facts of every situation vary and determine the rights of the parties as well as the appropriate legal strategy. Thanks for visiting Sisters in Law.
Foreclosure in Georgia
One out of every 165 Georgia households is in foreclosure.
Georgia ranked fourth in the nation among all states in the number of foreclosures. Georgia's foreclosure rate jumped 10.6 percent from July and was up 133.5 percent compared with August 2006. Only Nevada, California and Florida had worse foreclosure statistics.
The United States had a total of 243,947 foreclosure filings in August, up 36 percent from July and up 115 percent from August 2006. This is the highest number of foreclosure filings in a single month that RealtyTrac has reported since it began issuing its monthly report in January 2005. The national foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 510 households for the month is also the highest figure ever issued in the report. In July, 2007 10,000 Georgia households were facing foreclosure.
Georgia ranked fourth in the nation among all states in the number of foreclosures. Georgia's foreclosure rate jumped 10.6 percent from July and was up 133.5 percent compared with August 2006. Only Nevada, California and Florida had worse foreclosure statistics.
The United States had a total of 243,947 foreclosure filings in August, up 36 percent from July and up 115 percent from August 2006. This is the highest number of foreclosure filings in a single month that RealtyTrac has reported since it began issuing its monthly report in January 2005. The national foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 510 households for the month is also the highest figure ever issued in the report. In July, 2007 10,000 Georgia households were facing foreclosure.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Read a Book?
READ A BOOK COMMENTARY
JANICE L. MATHIS
RAINBOW PUSH COALITION
If Benjamin E. Mayes challenged us to reach for the stars, the Not A Rapper video “Read a Book” on You Tube takes us into the abyss. Billed as a satirical look at popular culture, a viewer is left with the distinct impression that nothing matters, that life is futile, knowledge fruitless, manners meaningless.
A common definition of satire is witty language used to convey insults or scorn. The video is plenteously scornful and insulting, but not of crassness. The video insults reading, personal hygiene, family values and frugality. Read a Book heaps scorn on positive values and (un)intentionally celebrates ignorance. The narrator is obviously illiterate, unkempt and disrespectful. So who takes his advice seriously?
The best Hip-hop is clever, with allusions to politics, history, great music and literature. Part of the fun is finding the hidden meaning. I was prepared to forgive the crude language and lack of creativity if there was as message encouraging viewers to read and otherwise conduct themselves responsibly. I was disappointed. The simplistic repetitive rhyme and tune made it clear that the creator had not taken his own advice, i.e. to Read a Book.
JANICE L. MATHIS
RAINBOW PUSH COALITION
If Benjamin E. Mayes challenged us to reach for the stars, the Not A Rapper video “Read a Book” on You Tube takes us into the abyss. Billed as a satirical look at popular culture, a viewer is left with the distinct impression that nothing matters, that life is futile, knowledge fruitless, manners meaningless.
A common definition of satire is witty language used to convey insults or scorn. The video is plenteously scornful and insulting, but not of crassness. The video insults reading, personal hygiene, family values and frugality. Read a Book heaps scorn on positive values and (un)intentionally celebrates ignorance. The narrator is obviously illiterate, unkempt and disrespectful. So who takes his advice seriously?
The best Hip-hop is clever, with allusions to politics, history, great music and literature. Part of the fun is finding the hidden meaning. I was prepared to forgive the crude language and lack of creativity if there was as message encouraging viewers to read and otherwise conduct themselves responsibly. I was disappointed. The simplistic repetitive rhyme and tune made it clear that the creator had not taken his own advice, i.e. to Read a Book.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Janice and Davida are Sisters in Law
Janice and Davida Mathis are featured on the Porsche Foxx show as Sisters in Law for WVEE-FM, a CBS affiliate in Atlanta. "Our show is called Sisters in Law because we are real lawyers, real sisters, with really good advice. We have a combined 40 years of legal experience in contracts, torts, real estate, personal injury, business formation, probate, domestic relations and criminal defense. Most people don't have a clue about how to choose a lawyer or negotiate fees, for example. We do." What you don't know can hurt you, because ignorance of the law is no excuse. Check them out - Mondays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. WVEE 103.3 FM or www.v-103.com.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Sisters In Law on V-103
Listen to Sisters in Law, Mondays from 10 a.m. -2 p.m. on WVEE, Atlanta and on the web at
v-103.com.
Real Sisters, Real Lawyers, Really Good Advice
Rocking the Box with Porsche Foxx
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