by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
I figured that I would share an update to the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar, the mother of two who was given jail time for sending her kids to a school outside of their home district. This week, Williams-Bolar met with both Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton about her case, appearing with me and her attorney on Rev. Jackson's show this past week. Rev. Sharpton and I are planning a rally for Kelley in Ohio soon, but the rally is not focused on just one person. Instead, the focal point is on the educational system in its entirety and why there are millions of moms across America being forced to break the law in order to help their children get access to a quality education.
I heard about Kelley's case through one of my Facebook friends. Her case had been in court for years with no resolution, and not enough people had heard about what this woman was going through. I wrote about Kelley's case in a few venues and called national media contacts, hoping that this important issue could be brought forth for public discussion. I am not in the business of doing individual crusades when it comes to the criminal justice system, since I don't have the resources to help with every case that comes across my email inbox. I get several cases in my email every single day, and while I wish I could help everyone, it's impossible without significant amounts of funding (I still have my day job, so I'm certainly not in this game for the money). I chose to grab Kelley's case because it has clear national implications about a failed public school system that continues to destroy the futures of our children on a regular basis. In fact, I dare say that if the only person who is helped in all this is Kelley Williams-Bolar, then we have failed ourselves, our children and our country.
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