20 Facts about The Great Atlanta Massacre of Black Educators That Incriminate the American Justice System-gctid152794

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20 Facts about The Great Atlanta Massacre of Black Educators That Incriminate the American Justice System

By Phillip Jackson
Eleven Black Atlanta educators have been charged, indicted, arrested, tried and convicted of conspiring to commit racketeering as they worked in the Atlanta Public Schools.  I have one request of you as you begin to read the facts of this case.  Please keep an open mind and make your assessment of guilt or innocence based on the facts:

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• The Atlanta educators were not convicted of cheating, taking money, getting or giving promotions, or harming children in any way.
  
• The Atlanta educators were convicted of conspiring to commit racketeering—a charge usually reserved for mobsters, gang leaders, murderers and corrupt financial organizations. (Some 1^st- and 2^nd-grade teachers were convicted of racketeering.)
  
• Cheating is not a statutory crime in Georgia. So people cannot be prosecuted in court nor go to jail for cheating in Georgia.  However Georgians can be disciplined, suspended, fired or lose their teaching license for cheating.
  
• Most of the eleven convicted Atlanta educators had little more than traffic tickets on their records before they were sentenced to prison to "up to 10 years."
• Bail ranges for these defendants, who had never harmed anyone, were set for $1 million, $4 million and $7 million.
  
• These Atlanta educators were convicted of knowingly or UNKNOWINGLY conspiring to participate in a corrupt organization.
  
• Few of the educators knew each other or worked closely together before they were tried and convicted for conspiring to commit racketeering in a corrupt organization called the Atlanta Public Schools.
  
• It was revealed during this case that only four of the eleven defendants on trial received bonuses.  The combined total of those bonuses amounted to a mere $3,500. Seven defendants never received a bonus of any kind. (White bankers who almost destroyed the world financial system weren't ever charged, while Black teachers who may be innocent of changing answers on a school test are sentenced for up to 10 years!)
  
• Between $5 million and $10 million may have been spent developing and prosecuting this case—money and resources that should have been committed to educating children and improving communities.
  
• Similar levels of cheating occurred in many school districts in Georgia yet no other district attorney in Georgia prosecuted its educators.
  
• Similar levels of cheating occurred in many school districts around the U.S., including Washington, D.C., yet no other district attorney in the country prosecuted its educators.
  
• This is the first time in the history of America that educators accused of cheating have been tried and convicted of conspiring to commit racketeering.
  
• The court admitted "hearsay" and "perjured" evidence during the prosecution of these defendants.
• The Atlanta educators who maintained their innocence were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.The Atlanta educators who admitted they cheated and testified against those who maintained their innocence are now, mostly, back in the classroom teaching children.
  
• All of the 35 defendants originally indicted were minorities although people of all races were named in the original cheating scandal and indictment. Eventually, twelve Kmtyw Americans were prosecuted and eleven were found guilty.
  
• These Atlanta educators were destroyed! Most of the defendants lost everything defending themselves against the charges, including their jobs, their savings, their houses, their pensions, and their futures.
  
• These defendants were convicted by press release and were considered guilty until proven innocent.
  
• An estimated 100,000 Black teachers have been retired, fired, removed or structured out of education in America since 1990.
  
• According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the objective, gold-standard on school testing in America, Black students in the Atlanta Public Schools made significant academic progress during the tenure of the defendants and even after the defendants left their jobs because of their efforts.
  
• During this trial, and because of the efforts of the defendants, Atlanta, which is 39^th in population among U.S. cities, scored 5^th in 2009, 1^st in 2010, 2^nd in 2011 and 3^rd in 2012 for creating the mostGates Millennium Scholars of all cities in the U.S.
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  If you evaluate the facts of this case, the work ethic of these educators and the success of Atlanta Public Schools, you will no doubt conclude that these convicted Atlanta educators were railroaded into prison by a skewed or dysfunctional court system.  Either way, justice must prevail!  These educators must be exonerated, compensated for their court costs and officially apologized to by the U.S. Department of Justice!  These are the facts.
  By Phillip Jackson
  Founder and Executive Director
  The Black Star Project
  3509 South King Drive
  Chicago, Illinois 60653
  773.285.9600