Former Ambassador Andrew Young speaking at Atlanta University Center (photo credit: Rebecca Grapevine).
ATLANTA – Former Ambassador Andrew Young, students and alumni, state legislators and civil rights leaders gathered on the steps of the Woodruff Library at Atlanta University Center Friday to celebrate the creation of a new scholarship program for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The new $5,000 Andrew Young HBCU Scholarships are designed to help students enrolled in HBCUs continue their educations.
Surrounded by students, Young described having to work many jobs to put himself through college when he was a young man – but ultimately managing to graduate.
“Now that won’t get you through the first two weeks,” he said, referring to the greatly increased cost of higher education today. Young said it is challenging for young people – among them his nine grandchildren – to afford college.
Education publisher McGraw Hill provided seed money for the scholarship fund.
“When we have this kind of support from a major corporation …. we know it’s a good investment. It’s a good investment for them. And it’s certainly a good investment for us.”
Atlanta’s HBCUs have contributed to making Atlanta a nationally renowned civil rights center with a strong business climate, Young said.
“It’s been this university complex that has created the brains that have drawn businesses here … that not only makes Atlanta great city, but I think it keeps even Georgia now a great nation,” Young said. “That’s why business is growing, that’s why we’ve got the world’s busiest airport.
State Reps. Dave Belton, R-Buckhead, and Mack Jackson, D-Sandersville, who helped spearhead the initiative for the scholarships, were also present.
The two lawmakers cosponsored a resolution encouraging Georgia public schools to teach about the civil rights movement and especially Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who attended Morehouse College. The resolution won unanimous approval from the Georgia House of Representatives earlier this year.
“I think everyone needs to hear … the words of Dr. King about peaceful resistance and non-violence is the best way to get there. I think that that resonates,” Belton said.
The first group of scholarships will go to 10 students. Scholarship recipients will also complete a civil rights curriculum designed by the organization Good of All, a group that promotes universal human rights.
The scholarships are designed to advance King’s, Young’s and other civil right leaders’ message of non-violent social change, said Matthew Daniels, founder of Good of All.
Daniels said a new generation of civil rights leaders is needed to fight hate and violence in American society.
“The only alternative we really have is to raise up a new generation that can go on offense for the good side – not defense against the bad,” said Daniels. “That’s why these young people are here.”
Daniels noted that students who leave college often do so between the first and second year due to lack of relatively modest sums, around $5,000, the scholarship amount. The new scholarships are designed to help “plug the gap.”
He and the other organizers plan for the scholarship program to grow each year.
“Inoculating hearts and minds against the poisonous ideologies of racism and violence that we saw in Buffalo …. that’s why we’re doing this scholarship program,” Daniels said. “America needs these young people.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney
ATLANTA – Both sides in the legal battle over Georgia’s 2019 law banning most abortions after about six weeks into a pregnancy made their cases during a trial in state court this week.
While the General Assembly enacted the abortion law three years ago, federal court rulings prevented it from taking effect until this summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.
Pro-choice advocates then challenged the law in state court, arguing it is unconstitutional under the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy.
During the trial in Fulton County Superior Court this week, lawyers for the plaintiffs presented expert witnesses including doctors, a public health expert and an ultrasound technician. The experts argued that the law has detrimental effects on Georgians’ health.
“Georgia’s ban has disproportionately harmed communities that already face barriers to health care: Black, Indigenous, and people of color; people with low incomes; and those who live in rural communities,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said Tuesday after the court hearing concluded. “We have asked the court to end this state-inflicted trauma so that providers in Georgia can care for the patients who need them.”
Lawyers for the state questioned the methods and conclusions of the plaintiffs’ witnesses and presented their own expert testimony in support of House Bill 481.
“Human life begins when the sperm fertilizes the egg, the moment of conception when that new human being becomes a genetically distinct person,” said Dr. Jeffrey Wright, a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine who practices in North Carolina who has served as an expert witness in abortion cases in other states.
Wright said Georgia’s law provides sufficient exceptions to allow physicians to decide to perform abortions if the life of the mother is at risk.
“[Doctors] can still provide that same medical care,” he said.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said Monday he would not rule on the matter until after Georgia’s Nov. 8 midterm elections, in part due to the extensive evidence presented to him.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Kim Jones, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Georgia, speaks at the state Capitol on Tuesday.
ATLANTA – Mental health advocates urged Georgians Tuesday to “vote for mental health” at a press conference at the state Capitol.
“Mental health is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It is a Georgia issue,” said Kim Jones, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Georgia. “Make sure your voice is heard and vote. … Every elected official … has influence on issues impacting people who are impacted by a mental health condition.”
Kristen Petillo, area director for the Georgia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, praised the steps Georgia has already taken to address its mental health problems, such as passing a major mental health reform law during this year’s legislative session. The new law requires insurers to treat mental health conditions on par with how they treat physical conditions, along with many other new measures.
But still more is needed, Petillo said, especially given widespread mental health problems among Georgia youth.
Petillo cited a recent study that found more than half of Georgia’s middle- and high-schoolers reported feeling depressed, sad or withdrawn at least once in the prior month, and that one in eight have seriously considered suicide within the past year.
“Although many Georgians are remarkably resilient, those who are exposed to unfavorable circumstances are at higher risk of experiencing behavioral health conditions,” Petillo said.
Petillo pointed to racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ community members, low-income groups and people living in rural areas as groups who face multiple socioeconomic and health challenges that can lead to greater mental health burdens.
For example, people living in rural Georgia are about twice as likely to die by suicide as people living in suburban and urban areas because of the wider availability of lethal means, greater social isolation and less access to care in many rural areas, Petillo said.
Petillo outlined several key priorities for going forward, such as working to increase access to mental health providers, holding insurers accountable for treating mental health conditions, and focusing on health equity and disparities.
Darlene Lynch, head of external relations for the Center for Victims of Torture in Atlanta, said that more culturally and linguistically accessible care is needed to meet the needs of the one-in-10 foreign-born Georgians.
“Because of the cultural and linguistic barriers, the lack of access in our state … compared to the other top 10 most diverse states in the nation, we lag behind” in providing care to such immigrants, Lynch said. She suggested creating a special division in the state government to focus on providing linguistically and culturally sensitive care.
A recent report by the national organization Mental Health America found mixed results for Georgia.
The organization’s overall ranking combining 15 factors related to mental health placed Georgia 24th in the country.
But when the report zoomed in on specific measures, Georgia fared worse. For example, the Peach State was ranked first for prevalence of mental illness and for adults with serious thoughts of suicide. Georgia was ranked second for rates of youth with substance disorders in the past year and placed 49th in the access-to- care rankings.
The state’s Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission has been meeting this fall to develop further mental health reform recommendations for the legislature to consider next year.
Jones said that Georgians can visit Vote4MentalHealth.org to learn more about mental health issues and voting in the upcoming election. Georgians seeking help with mental health or substance issues can also dial 9-8-8 to speak with a trained counselor.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – New results from “the nation’s report card” show that Georgia fourth and eighth graders stand about on par with their pre-pandemic performance in reading, but eighth-grade math scores dropped from pre-pandemic levels.
The National Association for Education Statistics administers the reading and math tests every other year to fourth and eighth graders in sample schools across the country. The last time the tests were administered was in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results, out this week, show how students are faring after major disruptions to school over the past several years.
The Georgia results on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress tests show that average fourth grade reading and math scores and eighth grade reading scores hovered around pre-pandemic rates.
Though Georgia’s average scores for these three tests are a few points lower than in 2019, the differences are “not significantly different,” according to reports released by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
But in eighth-grade math, Georgia’s average score dropped from 279 in 2019 to 271 this year, a significant decline.
This year, only about 59% of Georgia eighth graders were considered to have basic skills in math, while 67% met that bar in 2019.
Nationally, scores declined across the board for fourth grade and eighth grade reading and math, according to the NCES.
While many states saw drops from 2019 levels across the board or in many categories, Georgia bucked that trend, with its only significant decline coming in eighth-grade math.
The results come as Georgians gear up to vote for state school superintendent. Democrat Alisha Thomas Searcy is challenging incumbent Republican Richard Woods for the role.
Woods said he was pleased with the results.
“[It’s] a testament to the hard work of teachers and students across this state,” he said. “Knowing that there is still work to be done together, we will remain laser-focused on academic recovery and providing the resources schools and teachers need to invest in students and their success.”
But Searcy said Woods set the bar too low.
“As a parent of three school-age children and a former [local school] superintendent, I am troubled,” she said. “Our goal can’t be to compete for the bottom. My vision is for Georgia students to rise to the top.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Republican Herschel Walker Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock
ATLANTA – Georgia voters are being asked to choose between two nationally prominent Black men with deep ties to the state when they vote in a U.S. Senate race that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker are both deeply Christian and both well known nationwide as well as in Georgia.
Warnock holds the pulpit at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the former church of Martin Luther King Jr. He shot to national prominence when he won Georgia’s Senate seat in a run-off early last year, tipping the balance of power on Capitol Hill to the Democrats.
Walker is one of the most storied University of Georgia football players of all time. After leaving UGA, he went on to play professional football for several teams, including a United States Football League team owned by Donald Trump. The former president endorsed Walker’s run for Georgia’s Senate seat.
Both candidates frequently rely on quotes from the Bible and Christian theology during their speeches to Georgia voters but differ widely on policy issues including abortion, gun control, health care, and the economy.
Warnock is a staunch supporter of a woman’s right to choose.
“A patient’s room is too narrow and small and cramped a space for a woman, her doctor and the United States government as we are witnessing right now,” Warnock has said repeatedly at campaign events this fall. “I trust women more than I trust politicians.”
In contrast, Walker is an opponent of abortion. In the past, Walker has indicated he opposes all abortions, with no exceptions for the life of the mother or in the case of rape or incest.
However, during a recent debate, Walker said he supports Georgia’s “heartbeat law,” which bans most abortions after about six weeks but includes exceptions for rape and incest.
Walker has denied recent media reports that he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion and encouraged her to have a second abortion.
“That was a lie, and I’m not backing down,” Walker said during the recent debate.
“I’m a Christian. I believe in life. … I’ll be a senator that protects life,” he added.
Walker has sought to tie Warnock to President Joe Biden and blame current inflation on the Democratic duo.
“You have to blame this administration and Senator Warnock because within two years, this inflation has gotten worse,” Walker said. “They cut our energy independence. They also raised taxes. And at the same time, they [are] reckless[ly] spending all our money.”
Walker said he would address inflation by increasing American energy independence.
“We got to become energy independent again,” Walker said. “We’re going to our enemies to ask for gas and oil. That puts us not just in an inflation problem, but it puts us in a national security problem.”
And Walker said he would not cut military spending because the U.S. needs to maintain its military readiness.
Warnock, in contrast, blamed inflation on corporate greed.
“A lot of our corporate actors are seeing record profits in the oil and gas industry and the pharmaceutical industry,” Warnock said. “People deserve to participate in the prosperity that they’re creating for others. They deserve a livable wage, and they deserve benefits.”
Warnock successfully lobbied to get a $35 monthly cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries into the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. He also supported a cap on prescription drug costs for Americans on Medicare.
Warnock is a strong proponent of Medicaid expansion in Georgia. He wrote legislation to provide a federal workaround to allow Georgia and other non-Medicaid-expansion states to provide health coverage to uninsured people. The workaround failed to gain traction in Congress amid Republican opposition.
Walker recently said he agrees with Warnock that insulin prices should be capped but that the country must also address the larger problem of inflation.
“I believe in reducing insulin, but at the same time you got to eat right,” Walker said. “So you have to get food prices down and get gas down.”
Warnock has been a proponent of college student loan debt relief. He has called on Biden to take action to forgive some student loan debt, which Biden did earlier this fall.
Warnock frequently tells audiences that federal programs such as Head Start and student loans allowed him to get a good education despite being one of 12 children in a family where money was tight. He says still more loan relief is needed.
Walker, on the other hand, has criticized the loan-relief measure.
“I talked to people, some people that wanted to go to college but they couldn’t,” he said. “This is not right. It’s unfair.”
Walker suggested stopping federal funding to colleges that raise their costs.
Warnock supported a gun-control bill passed by Congress in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, shootings. The new law imposes tougher background checks for people under age 21 who want to buy guns.
Walker opposes most gun control measures as unconstitutional.
“Any law or bill passed that affects anyone’s Second Amendment, I’m not going to stand for,” Walker said.
Walker also blamed Warnock for a rise in crime and the flooding of fentanyl into American streets, saying the country should ensure the southern border is tightly controlled.
Walker also has said he is a law enforcement officer. During a recent debate, he doubled down on those claims, pulling out a badge to show the audience and saying, “I work with many police officers.”
Both candidates face liabilities with voters due to unsavory aspects of their past personal lives.
One attack ad shows Walker’s ex-wife describing how Walker held a gun to her head.
Walker has said the altercations with his ex-wife occurred while he was in the throes of mental illness. He has recently told Georgia voters he is in good health and ready to represent them in the Senate.
“I continue to get help if I need help, but I don’t need any help [now]. I’m doing well,” Walker said.
Another attack ad features the words of Walker’s son, Christian, a Republican activist who lashed out at his father following a media report alleging Walker paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion.
Walker has denied the abortion allegations.
An ad targeting Warnock shows bodycam footage of Warnock’s ex-wife during a domestic violence altercation in March 2020. She is shown in tears accusing Warnock of running over her foot with his car.
A police report found no evidence that Warnock had run over his ex-wife’s foot. Warnock emphasized that he is an involved and supportive father to his two children during a recent debate.
Both races have attracted national attention and dollars. A recent Capitol Beat/Georgia News Collaborative Poll found that the race is essentially tied.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
