6A Monday, November 12, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
LOCATSTATE
Black Georgia voters hear echoes of voter suppression
BOB ANDRES I Associated Press
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Stacey Abrams’ campaign chairman, stands with attorneys during
a news conference Thursday, Nov. 8, in Atlanta.
BY ERRIN HAINES WHACK
Associated Press
ATLANTA — When Bar
bara Williams arrived at the
Pittman Park Recreation
Center just before noon on
Election Day to cast her
vote, she saw a line so long
that the end wasn’t in sight.
“There were so many
people, you couldn’t count
them,” Williams recalled.
“They were looped around.
The line started at the door
and it snaked around to the
left.”
She ultimately waited
four hours to use one of the
three voting machines at the
precinct where the 58-year-
old retiree has voted in
every election since she
turned 18. Others reported
similar challenges to voting
at Pittman Park, located in
the heart of Atlanta’s oldest
black neighborhood: Hours-
long waits and voters leaving
in frustration. For Williams
and others who sought to
vote at Pittman Park, the
hurdles echoed a long his
tory of voter suppression
unfolding in a race in which
Democrat Stacey Abrams
is seeking to become the
nation’s first black female
governor.
“I feel like they didn’t
want her to win,” Williams
said of Abrams. “They made
things so that we would get
aggravated and people
would leave.”
The race between
Abrams and her Republican
opponent, Brian Kemp, is
still too close to call five days
after the election. Kemp has
denied any attempt to sup
press the vote. But his back
ground as someone who, as
secretary of state, deleted
inactive voters from regis
tration rolls and enforced an
“exact match” policy that
could have prevented thou
sands from registering to
vote, has brought the issue of
minority access to the polls
to the forefront.
That’s especially true at
Pittman Park, which has
long been a center of black
civic and community life.
Many residents learned to
swim there at the only pool
they were allowed to use
during the segregation era.
Today, it offers after school
care, classes for seniors and
a space for local meetings.
It has been a precinct for
as long as Douglas Dean,
head of the Pittsburgh
Neighborhood Association,
can remember. Three years
ago, it was consolidated with
a nearby polling station, dou
bling the number of regis
tered voters to nearly 3,800,
according to the Fulton
County Board of Elections,
one of the factors that may
have played into last week’s
lines.
“There is no excuse for
what happened here in this
election,” said Dean, 71, and
a former state representa
tive. “Georgia is changing
and there are some whites
who want everything to stay
the same so that they remain
in power. We’ve been fight
ing this battle for years. This
is nothing new.”
The Rev. Jesse Jackson,
who had been troubleshoot
ing election irregularities
in the city that day, was at
the precinct Tuesday to
investigate.
“They were four deep in
the room,” Jackson said,
describing the scene in an
interview. “Some were in
wheelchairs, some were on
walkers, some were sick.
I appealed to them to stay.
Either incompetence or
corruption or both is what
happened.”
Williams fought back,
maintaining her place in
line and pleading with oth
ers to do the same.
“It was important for me
to vote,” she explained. “I
vote in every election. I’m
a human being and I have a
life and I try for it to be bet
ter. A whole lot of people
left. I even tried to get some
of them to stay. I said, ‘That’s
what they want you to do.’”
Joseph Jarrett came at
around the same time as
Williams, with his 4-year-old
son in tow to show him the
significance of voting. When
he saw the line, Jarrett left,
not wanting to stand there
with a restless toddler.
He debated whether or
not to come back. On his
mind were lessons from
childhood. He thought of the
Mississippi voting activist
Fannie Lou Hamer, a per
sonal hero, and what she did
for the community. Jarrett
retuned to the line just after
2 p.m. Three hours later, he
cast his ballot.
“I was determined to
vote,” said Jarrett, 38. “Our
whole community was gal
vanized by Stacey Abrams’
campaign. But some people
came in, saw the line, and
walked right back out.”
Others also tried to per
suade people to be patient,
attempting to counter frus
tration with a festive atmo
sphere. A band arrived and
played music. Dozens of
pizzas and refreshments
appeared. When the rain
broke, the sizzle of a grill
began in the parking lot.
Jackson took selfies to try
to lift spirits. He also went to
a playbook that has worked
for him since the civil rights
movement: He mobilized
the press and created a
scene. Soon, five brand new
machines, still in the wrap
per, were brought to the con
crete building on Garibaldi
Street. But by then, some
of the damage had already
been done.
“Some people had to
leave and go to work,” Jack-
son said. “Some had to go
home and get their medi
cine. Some people became
discouraged. Denial of
opportunity, denial of access
to democracy .. That’s what
voter suppression looks like.
I’ve seen this for a long
time.”
Voters in other black
neighborhoods complained
of long lines and inadequate
resources, too. As the hour
drew near for the polls to
close, the Georgia NAACP
won its lawsuit to extend vot
ing hours for three precincts
in Fulton County, including
Pittman Park. When the
lights were turned off after
the last ballot was cast, it
was 1 a.m., according to
workers at the center.
Nearly a week after
the election, even those
who were able to vote are
left wondering whether
they were excluded from
the process, despite their
perseverance.
The fight continues,
as Abrams has sued a
southwest Georgia county
over absentee ballots and
has vowed to stay in the
race until the recount is
complete.
“I think she probably did
win, but I don’t think she’ll
be the governor, because
I don’t think they’ll do the
right thing,” Jarrett said of
Abrams. “It’s a damn shame,
because people really came
out. For their votes not to
be counted .. it’s like a dis
grace to democracy.”
ATLANTA
Fulton officials fight to
freeze tax assessments
Fulton County officials head to court Tuesday
to justify a 2017 freeze of most residential prop
erty values at the previous year’s levels.
The county filed suit against the state revenue
commissioner, who still hasn’t approved the
county’s 2017 tax digest. The Atlanta Journal-Con
stitution reports that the tax commissioner, Lynne
Riley, questioned the legality of Fulton’s actions.
If Fulton’s attorneys fail to convince a judge
that county commissioners’ actions were in the
right, leaders could be forced to re-bill residents
for last year’s property taxes.
The freeze on property values at 2016 levels
came after nearly a quarter of the 318,000 resi
dential parcels in Fulton saw values shoot up by
50 percent or more for 2017.
DENMARK, S.C.
2 shot after homecoming event
at South Carolina college
One man died and another was injured after
they were shot after a homecoming party on a
South Carolina college campus.
Voorhees College in Denmark celebrated
its homecoming Friday. The State newspaper
reports that the school said in a statement that the
two men were shot later that night after an event
on campus.
The statement said neither of the two shooting
victims was a student at the school. The shooter
had not been identified.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division
is investigating.
The residential side of the campus was on lock-
down, and only students, faculty and staff with
proper ID or decal were allowed to enter.
Voorhees is a historically black college. The
State reports that the school is listed as hav
ing 642 undergraduates and 42 full-time faculty
members.
Associated Press
NEWNAN
Tai chi helping Parkinson’s patients
focus on and regain their balance
BY MELANIE RUBERTI
The Newnan Times-Herald
Tai chi is becoming a new
favorite exercise among Par
kinson’s patients like Larry
Bergeson of Newnan.
“I’ve had two trial lessons,”
he said. “Tai chi is great for
learning movement and bal
ance. As a person affected
by Parkinson’s disease, both
movement and balance
become more difficult as the
disease progresses.”
Bergeson also heads up a
Parkinson’s support group.
He invited Trish Gurney, a
therapist with the First Hands
organization of Peachtree City
and tai chi teacher, to lead an
exercise class during one of the
support group’s meetings.
“The great thing about tai
chi is it can be done standing,
holding onto a chair or sit
ting,” Gurney explained. “A
lot of people with Parkinson’s
disease lose control of balance
in their lower extremities. Tai
chi teaches them to move from
their center of gravity which is
three fingers below the belly
button. It brings their focus
down, helps them align their
bodies in a straight line and
gives them good posture.
According to Gurney, Par
kinson’s patients who take tai
chi classes for at least a year
have less tendency to fall.
Falling to the ground can be
just one outcome for patients
with Parkinson’s disease.
According to the Parkinson’s
Foundation website, the dis
ease is a neurodegenerative
disorder that predominantly
affects dopamine-producing
neurons in a specific area of
the brain.
Around 60,000 Americans
are diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease each year, according to
www.parkinsonassociation.org.
It is estimated between 7-10
million people worldwide
are currently living with the
disease.
Unfortunately, researchers
do not know what causes Par
kinson’s disease, and there is
no cure.
Symptoms generally develop
slowly over years. The disease
affects everyone differently,
but indicators include trem
ors, slowness of movements,
rigid limbs and balance issues,
according to the Parkinson’s
Foundation.
Parkinson’s disease affects
a person’s cognition, or mental
abilities used to process infor
mation and apply knowledge,
according to www.apdaparkin-
son.org. This includes functions
that allow people to estimate
distance and depth percep
tion, which is why Parkinson’s
patients may have trouble
walking, turning around, reach
ing for objects and even walk
ing backwards.
The lack of coordination,
vertigo, loss of muscle tone,
and issues with depth percep
tion are another set of potential
problems for patients living
with Parkinson’s disease, said
Dr. Amy Morse, a physical
therapist with Neuro Rehab
Clinic at the Emory Brain
Health Center.
According to Gurney, tai
chi can help with those health
issues as well.
“Tai chi teaches Parkin
son’s patients to keep their
joints loose,” she explained.
“There are exercises we can
do that create a long ‘form,’
or segue into more choreo
graphed movements, which is
great for the patients’ mental
state as they memorize the
movements.
“I teach them ways to refine
the movements and still keep
the integrity of it,” Gurney
added.
Gurney has taught tai chi
classes for people with all
ranges of abilities for 21 years,
she said.
Gurney is also a master of
Emei Qigong, she said.
Similar to tai chi, Emei
Qigong is a Chinese martial
arts aimed at promoting good
health, emotional balance and
spiritual awareness through
practices that strengthen the
body’s vital energy. The medi
tative exercise also reportedly
deepens people’s healing abil
ity, according to the emeiqi-
gong.us website.
“People with Parkinson’s
disease have to envision a
move before they do it, such
as getting up from a chair,”
she explained. “It can be done
if their foot is positioned in the
right place and they are sitting
up correctly.
“Tai chi also teaches patients
to keep their knees bent, which
strengthens their quad mus
cles,” Gurney added. “Having
strong quad muscles is what
gets you out of a chair or off of
a toilet.”
But most importantly,
patients need to have an open
mind, Gurney said.
Tai chi and other martial arts
are a form of eastern holistic
medicine that Gurney believes
has not been fully embraced by
the “western civilization” as a
means of healing.
OBITUARY
Cathy Wanda Lee
Hodge Coley
Nov. 18, 1953-
Nov. 10, 2018
Cathy Wanda Lee Hodge
Coley, 64, of Gainesville
passed
away on
Saturday
Nov. 10,
2018, fol
lowing an
extended
illness.
Funeral
services
will be
held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday,
Nov. 13, 2018, in the chapel
of Memorial Park Funeral
Home with Rev. Jason Sim
mons and Rev. Carroll Coley
officiating. The family
will receive friends at the
funeral home on Monday,
Nov. 12, 2018, from 2 p.m.
until 4 p.m. and from 6 p.m.
until 8 p.m.
Born on Nov. 18, 1953 in
Asheville, N.C., she was the
daughter of the late Charles
Edward and Bertha Luna
Gilleland Hodge. She was
formerly employed with
Frazier’s Restaurant and
attended Diamond Hill Bap
tist Church.
In addition to her parents,
Mrs. Coley is preceded in
death by her brothers, Curtis
Hodge and Herman Hodge.
Mrs. Coley is survived
by her husband, Jimmy
Coley of Gainesville; sons
and daughters-in-law, Jerry
Charles and Carisa Burch
of Dahlonega; Carroll and
Amber Coley of Gainesville;
grandson and wife, Dylan
and Joanie Burch of Gaines
ville; grandsons, Damian
Burch of Gainesville, Slate
Burch of Dahlonega, Caiden
Coley of Gainesville; sis
ter, Elizabeth McMahan of
Asheville, N.C.; brothers,
Larry Hodge of Weaver-
ville, N.C., Carroll Hodge of
Gainesville.
In lieu of flowers, the fam
ily request that contribu
tions be made to Muscular
Dystrophy Association, 2310
Parklake Drive, Suite 375,
Atlanta, GA 30345 in mem
ory of Allen Lane Coley.
Memorial Park Funeral
Home, Gainesville
Sign the online guest book
at gainesvilletimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Nov. 12, 2018
DEATH
NOTICES
Velma Jean Gazaway
Died Nov. 10, 2018
Velma Jean Gazaway, 82,
of Cumming died Saturday.
Funeral service, 11 a.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14, Mount
Pisgah Baptist Church.
Ingram Funeral Home &
Crematory, Cumming.
Memphis Webb McGehee
Died Nov. 10,2018
Memphis Webb McGe
hee, 92, of Suwanee died
Saturday. Funeral ser
vice, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.
13, funeral home chapel.
Ingram Funeral Home &
Crematory, Cumming.
Montese Phillips
Died Nov. 8, 2018
Montese Phillips, 88, of
Alpharetta died Thursday.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home, Cumming.
Michael Schneider
Died Nov. 8, 2018
Michael Schneider, 66, of
Dahlonega died Thursday.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home, Cumming.
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