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Page 4 — NEWS Spelman Spotlights March, 1981 Mother of Slain Son Expresses Mixed Emotions By Bridgett M. Davis News Editor Mrs. Willie Mae Mathis is a middle- aged black woman who brings daily proof to the belief that black women posses an indescribable and unyielding stregth that is impossible to match. For eleven tormenting months, Ms. Mathis prayed and prayed to the Ford to give her the strength that she has had to maintain throughout her ordeal. Then, on February 13, 1981 she received a call that the bodily remains of her son had been found. Jeffrey Lamar Mathis became another victim on the steadily increasing list of murdered children in Atlanta. It’s an empty feeling,” said Ms. Mathis. “Having a child for ten years . . he walks out of the door one day . . . and you never see him again for eleven months . . .” she said.endingabruptly. “I prayed and prayed, hoping Jeffrey was still alive.” It was a big relief when his body was found to at least know where he was, yet - as anyone must realize - “it hurt.” Included in all of the emotions Mrs. Mathis must have felt was anger toward A two-day conference to address “The Black Child Agenda” has been planned for April 3rd and 4th by SCLC WOMEN, (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), as part of its second national conference on the “Survival of the Black Family in the Eighties,” The first conference was held last May and addressed male-female relations. Mrs. Evelyn G. Lowery, founder and national convener of SCLC/WOMEN, said the Second Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Drum Major Awards Dinner will be held after the close of the conference on April 4, the 13th anniversary of Dr. King’s death. Amongthe honored guests will be ABC News Anchorman Max Robinson and U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums. “The dinner will honor the life of our founding president, nad will -rpvode opportunity for the presentation of the 1981 Drum Major Awards to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the fulfillment of the ‘dream,’ ” Mrs. Lowery said, as well as raise funds to continue the work of fulfilling the ‘dream.’ Awards will be presented in government, education, human rights, the arts, law and justice, sports, business and communications. Special awards will be given to individuals outside these professions whose contributions also merit public recognition. C tor-comedian Bill Cosby, Congressman Wyche Fowler and Mrs. Rosa Parks, the Mother of the civil rights movement, are honorary co-chairperson. Numerous professionals in the health care field and in education and religion, (among others), will lead workshops and panel discussions for the Black Child conference. Doctors Ann and Alvin Poussaint will keynote the conference with major Mrs. Camille Bell, mother of the late Usef Bell, Jean Blake, WAC.A reporter and a mother of one of the missing children were guests on the Phil Donohue Show. anyone who would harm innocent children. “These children were cute, bright and talented kids. Who knows? One of them could have had the cure for cancer or could have been the next president.” Yet, despite her grief, Ms. Mathis also feels everything happens for a reason and in an unfortunate sense, something good has come out of it. People have become more neighborly and brotherly as a result of this crisis. Ms. Mathis realizes that, as usual, it has taken “tragedy to being people together.” Sharing the feelings of so many others. addresses and workshop participation. Workshops will address “Improving Educational Opportunities,” “Protecting' Health and Welfare” and “Developing Positive Self Concepts." Topics for discussion include “Building Quality Schools in Low Income Neighborhoods,” “The Impact of Integration,” “Child Abuse Everybody’s Problem,” “Positive Self Images in a Materialistic Society” and “Effective Parenting.” Child Psychiatrist Dr. Quentin Smith, Dr. Barbara Whitaker of the Atlanta Board of Education and Rev. McKinley Young, pastor of Atlanta’s Big Bethel AME Church are just a few of the workshop leaders who will be available to conference participanta. Atlanta Police Chief George Napper, Mrs. Camille Bell and Mrs. Willie Mae Mathis of the Committee To Stop Chidren’s Murders, Rev. Arthur Langford, Atlanta city coucilman and president of the United Youth Adult Conference (the organization coordinating the weekend searches), and Dr. Quentin Smith w'ill comprise a panel discussing “Crime Against Atlanta’s Children — What Can the Community Do?” Mrs. Jean Young is honorary chairperson of the conference and as chairperson also of the International Year of the Child, she will report on the past year’s involvments. Registration for the conference is S5 and the conference site is the Atlanta Hilton Hotel. The Drum Major Awards Dinner on April 4 is at 7 p.m. in the Hilton. Tickets are S50 and may be obtained by writing P.O. Box 42257, Atlanta, G A 30311. Please send for your tickets early. For more information about the dinner or conference call (404) 344- 3970 or 522-1420. Ms. Mathis questions the competency of the Atl. Police Dept. “Why can’t they do something about it?” she asks in earnest. She acknowledges that the police are doing everything within their power and are working around the clock. Yet, she strongly feels that: “If they’d started this investigation sooner (and) if they’d asked the GB1 and the FBI to come in sooner, this would have been halted a long time ago. It would have saved lives.” Commissioner Lee P. Brown did not acknowledge a pattern sooner because he didn’t want to alarm the public. Not until after the Bowen Homes incident (where several children and one adult were killed by an. explosion caused by a faulty furnace system) and after the eighth murder did they acknowledge a pattern. Ms. Mathis expresses complete disapproval of such actions. “It wasn’t his choice . . .(Commissioner Brown)s) the people should have known .... Lee Brown said there was no pattern, so everybody stopped talking about it.” The apathy on the part of Atlantans deeply disturbs Ms. Mathis. “They say Atlanta is a city too busy to hate, but what does it take for them to care?” She believes that most Atlantans are indifferent until it “hits home.” They don’t care in Atlanta. Nothing seems to get next to them.” If the Atlantans have appeared indifferent, the press has been totally unfeeling toward Ms. Mathis. On the day Jeffrey’s body was found, she had to leave out of her back door and over a By Bridgett M. Editor News Editor Dr. Sandra Sims, an instructor of Education at Spelman College, has been selected as the chairperson of the Special Mental Health Task Force (MHTF). which was implemented to address the immediate and long term effects of the "missing and murdered” children phenomenon. Due to the impact of the children’s crisis, the emotional health of black children and their families has been affected. “The living and learning environment of children at home, school, and on playgrounds may not be psychologically safe. Parents and teachers are reportedly having diffuclty handling the increased levels of stress and anxiety exhibited by children as a result of this crisis,” according to Public Safety commissioner, Lee P. Brown. The Task Force’s mission is to identify and mobilize community resources which could aid the concerns of those affected by the problem. These resources would be: Parent Block Organizations; YMCA & YWCA affiliations; Boy’s Clubs; churches; and other community groups. The MHTF encourages these groups to be more responsive to those children affected psychologically by the crisis, and to offer their services wherever needed within the communities. By pooling their services together, these groups can become strong community support systems. neighbor’s fence to avoid the reporters, who were everywhere - even hiding in the bushes. During her son’s funeral, she was again harassed by the crowds and crowds of media persons. “The media doesn’t care about your feelings,” she said. “1 wouldn’t talk to anybody before he was found.” Now, she adds, her phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Ms. Mathis has her own theories on who could be the cause of this nightmare. She believes it is more than one person. And, she doesn’t believe a black man or woman is responsible because black people have have too much respect for their mothersand theirchildren. “A black man will kill you for messing with his mother or his kids,” she said. Believing that Jeffrey would never have trusted a stranger, she feels it must be someone that has gained the children’s trust. Most puzzling to her is what this person or persons does with the children before they kill them, since it has been proven that some of the children had been dead for considerably less time than they had been missing. The real ordeal that Mrs. Mathis and twenty other mothers have undergone is beyond full comprehension for those of us who have not been personally victimized by it. “No one else can relate if your child is missing or dead except someone else it has happened to" she said. Nevertheless, we empathize with Mrs. Mathis, and we share her sentiments fully that, ’’with a lot of prayers, the Lord will surely reveal these people.” The M HTF believes that only in severe cases should children with difficulties be sent to mental health centers. It would be the responsibility of the community support services to define what is typical, normal reactions within the children. As chairperson of the M H FT, Dr. Sims feels their main objective is to foster a sense of community within the children. “The crisis has made us aware that we don’t have a great emphasis on community. People often do not know their neighbors . . . Children need to know that there is someone within their community that they can trust," said Dr. Sims. On February 14, 1981, a planning conference sponsored by the Dept, of Public Safety and the Mental Health Tadk Force, was held at Atlanta University to initiate the process of the task force. The theme of the conference was, “1 Am My Brother’s Keeper." Future plans for the MHTF include more parent workshops and workshops with children to strengthen communications and to minimize stress within the black family. It also intends to provide more after-school cj^re^aod supervision of .children., , ; .Mpst importantly, they will continue to .ident.i,fy and coordinate community resources and services, as Dr. Sims states: “We have a responsibility to carry through., and continue to be an advocacy to children and families.” .,. SCLC To Hold Conference On Black Child Agenda Spelman Education Instructor Heads Special Mental Health Task Force