Kelley Williams-Bolar Case A Disturbing One That Color Of Change Is Following

Here is a letter from ColorofChange:

Kelley Williams-Bolar wanted to give her children a better life by sending them to school in the nearby majority-White school district where her father lives — and she went to jail for it. Now, as a convicted felon, helping her children will be even harder — she had been studying to become a teacher, but that dream may have ended as well.

Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime; by any measure, this is cruelly unjust.

Please join us calling on Governor Kasich to take a public stand and do everything he can to right this injustice (including making sure that Williams-Bolar has the opportunity to become a teacher in Ohio). And please ask your friends and family to add their voices as well — it takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/ohioschools

Kelley Williams-Bolar is a single mother of two daughters, and she is a teacher’s aide in Akron city schools who has been studying to become a teacher. According to Williams-Bolar, after their home in a housing project was burglarized, she decided to protect her daughters’ safety by sending them to school in neighboring Copley Township, where her father lives.¹

Williams-Bolar claims that she maintained a part-time residence at her father’s home, but the school district didn’t see it that way. Neither did County Prosecutor Sherri Walsh, who charged Williams-Bolar with grand theft and falsifying records — a third-degree felony. The judge presiding over the case recognized the harshness of the felony charge and encouraged Prosecutor Walsh to offer a plea bargain for a lighter charge — but Walsh flatly refused.²

Williams-Bolar was convicted on the felony charge, and sentenced to 5 years in prison. The judge suspended all but 10 days of the jail time, instead ordering 2 years of probation and 80 hours of community service. She’s out of jail now, but the repercussions could last a lifetime: unless the felony is eliminated from her record, Williams-Bolar may be unable to earn her teaching certificate under Ohio law. Williams-Bolar is only a few classes away from earning her teaching certificate.³

Any parent could understand why Kelley Williams-Bolar did what she did to try to give her children access to opportunity. It’s tragic that families around America must make choices like this every day in order to ensure their kids are safe and well-educated. And it’s tragic that this family’s opportunity to succeed stands to be limited because a single mom chose to put her kids first.

With just a moment of your time, you can make clear to Governor John Kasich that you expect him to lead in ensuring real justice that’s proportional to the facts of the case. By speaking out, you’re not just standing with Williams-Bolar — you’re standing with every parent who doesn’t have access to great schools, and who must make difficult choices.

Please join our call for justice for Kelley Williams-Bolar. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
January 28th, 2011

References:

1. "Ohio Mom Kelley Williams-Bolar Jailed for Sending Kids to Better School District," ABC News, 1-26-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/703?akid=1876.868165.A8JX3O&t=7

2. "Kelley Williams-Bolar leaves jail but public outcry escalates," The Beacon Journal, 1-26-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/704?akid=1876.868165.A8JX3O&t=9

3. See Reference 1

Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban Has To Be Reigned In

Now, with that being said … Cuban was dead wrong for confronting Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin’s mom during his post-game tirade (after the Mavericks, in some ways, might have been screwed by the referees). You never go after someone’s mother. If he thought that Kenyon Martin as being a thug then he should have said that right to Martin’s face and not walk around the court throwing a tantrum, shoving hard-working cameramen and then verbally going after the mom of an opposing player. With that kind of conduct, how can Cuban refer to Martin as a thug or a punk (or whatever it was he actually said to Martin’s mother) … and do it with a straight face?
I am not exactly the biggest fan of columnist Jason Whitlock, but he makes a lot of sense (I don’t think of everything he said in this column, but I agree with a lot of it). Here is Whitlock’s take on the Cuban-Martin flare up.

Here is a small excerpt from Whitlock’s column:

(NBA Commissioner) David Stern’s refusal to take action against Cuban following Game 3 is indefensible.
Does Stern not understand the culture of the league he oversees? Does he fail to comprehend the position Kenyon Martin is in if he fails to publicly (and perhaps physically) defend his mama?

Stern needs to step his game up and bring a little more structure to ownership etiquette for Mark Cuban. Does he want confrontations to escalate? I truly can appreciate Cuban’s passion and energy, but he was completely out of line and, as Whitlock said, Cuban’s actions after Game 3 were indeed “indefensible.” Honestly, the NBA needs more passionate and dedicated owners like Mark Cuban, but tempered with a little more self control and more respect for the sport, players, coaches, family, media and the opposition’s players, coaches, family and media. Cuban’s online blog apology was OK (the link to it is below), but it would be better if made directly to Martin and directly to his mother.
Does Stern want a repeat of the brawl that happened at the Palace of Auburn Hills between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers? If he allows this to slide then what else will he allow to slide in the future?

Mark Cuban’s apology:
http://blogmaverick.com/2009/05/12/an-apology-to-kenyon-martins-mom-2/