Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, January 7-13, 2016
LOCAL
Page 6A
“Volunteering gives
me a spirit of being able to
help others and being able
to help myself through that
and create a world where my
children will be able to be
leaders,” said Merrill White,
president of the Charter
School Parent Council.
In that organization,
which she founded, the Li-
thonia resident does “a lot of
things that deal with parents
and their right to school
choice.”
“I try to keep parents
abreast of all school issues—
the things that they need to
know in order to help their
children successfully navi
gate the school system and
do well academically,” White
said.
White, who has two
children in a charter school,
founded the organization be
cause she discovered “people
have a lack of knowledge
about charter schools.”
“It’s important to bring
people together who have
children in charter schools
and inform people who do
not,” she said.
Additionally, White, a re
tired psychologist, is the ex
ecutive director of Supports
Systems Inc., a nonprofit
organization that promotes
family preservations. The
groups provide services for
children and counseling for
parents.
White, who has lived in
DeKalb County for seven
years, is a Girl Scout leader
for a south DeKalb troop,
a member of the PTO for
Leadership Preparatory
Academy, and works with
the relationship ministry for
Power of Purpose Christian
Center in Decatur.
She is co-chairwoman of
the education committee for
the South DeKalb Improve
ment Association and is a
member of South DeKalb
Parent Council and Parent
Councils United.
White also sponsors
Kwanzaa programs in the
community.
Much of White’s volun-
teerism is child oriented, said
the former teacher.
“It all revolves around
children and their families,”
said White, who have been
volunteering since she was a
girl-
“I guess it’s part of my
nature to volunteer,” White
said. “It’s something that is
rewarding to me. I believe
that people have given their
time to me and I just believe
we need to give back.”
“I would encourage other
people to take responsibility
for their fellow man and un
derstand that we are not only
responsible for ourselves,
but we are all responsible for
each other,” White said.
If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Andrew Cauthen
at andrew@dekalbchamp.com or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.
Petition circulating for proposed south DeKalb city of M. L. King
by Andrew Cauthen
andrew@dekalbchamp.com
There’s a new cityhood
movement being contem
plated in south DeKalb.
South DeKalb resident
Marvis McDaniel-Ivey is go
ing around to her neighbors
pushing the idea of cityhood
for the 30032 ZIP Code in
DeKalb County—an unin
corporated portion of De
catur that includes the Bel
vedere and Greater Towers
communities, McAfee Road
and portions of Snapfinger
Road and Columbia Drive.
The name for the pro
posed city is Martin Luther
King Jr., Ga.
“A city named for some
one we.. .love and respect...
will inspire us to attain more,
and achieve the quality of
living which will support our
lifestyles, protect our assets
and gain us the prosperity...
which we deserve,” McDan
iel-Ivey said.
“As [are] many Blacks, I
am troubled about our cir
cumstances as a group, the
racism which we suffer and
are forced to suffer seemingly
because there is much oppo
sition to legitimate solutions
to our problems,” McDaniel-
The 30032 ZIP Code is the subject of a proposed new city.
Ivey said about her proposed
city.
McDaniel-Ivey said the
new city would address the
“overwhelming need.. .for
relief from blight and distress
caused by high volume va
cant housing.”
“This is a problem on
nearly every street in our
community, which is not to
say the problem is restricted
to our community,” McDan
iel-Ivey said.
McDaniel-Ivey said the
county has “suffered drasti
cally from the Great Reces
sion, as well as corruption
in our county government
which research solutions
show can be addressed in the
form of mayor-council gov
ernment, which I have pro
posed in the charter for our
city which I am now working
on.
“It is time for well re
searched models of residen
tial and business develop
ment that will sustain and
profitably provide for growth
in our communities.
McDaniel-Ivey said she
has begun a petition to gain
support for the proposed
city.
“The major concern
which I have heard has been
about [an] increase in taxes.
Taxes are not expected to in
crease,” said McDaniel-Ivey,
who, for $29.95, is selling a
91-page report of her own
study of the conditions in
south DeKalb. McDaniel-
Ivey was unaware of the state
requirement for a economic
feasibility study.
“We are truly a distressed
community which is due
many sources of emergency
and other funding which we
cannot possibly begin to ap
ply for without our city gov
ernment,” she said.
“No one is going to ad
vocate for us besides us,”
McDaniel-Ivey said.
The proposed King city
is within the boundaries of
the proposed city of Green-
haven, which includes much
of south DeKalb. McDaniel-
Ivey said she had not spoken
with anyone from the Green-
haven movement about her
proposal.
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