Another Deep Center recommendation is to pass an ordinance addressing cash-bond practices in Chatham County, with the policy briefing stating detrimental impacts of the cash-bail system on the lives of impoverished detainees who may not be guilty of the crimes they are charged with. “In effect, cash bail often criminalizes poverty, as people who are unable to afford even the most simple bail are detained while they await trial, for weeks, sometimes months, often days,” Papy said. “Doing away with cash bail for low-level, nonviolent misdemeanors would reduce unnecessary stays in our jail.” Other recommendations conveyed to the commissioners were decriminalizing local misdemeanors like possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, establishing an external crisis team to aid law enforcement, and developing incentives to attract more mental-healthcare workers who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color to Chatham County. Following Papy’s presentation, some commissioners lauded the efforts of Deep Center. “I have seen the changes with the Deep Center and the children that you work with. They are totally amazing,” said Commissioner Tanya Milton. Visit deepcenter.org/news to view the entire “Building a Restorative Community” policy briefing.“We believe the best in our young people, not just the things that are terrible around them.”
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CS: You aim to inspire many. How do you stay inspired? TA: It’s a lot of prayer, and I am very intentional. I get my inspiration from the Bible, T.D. Jakes, Sarah Jakes Roberts, Oprah, and knowing why I’m here. Knowing that next month’s issue is going to talk about another woman and it will have 80 pages of pure content about Black excellence − that motivates me. Or when I see that someone has signed up for a two-year subscription of my magazine. Or when I meet someone and they’re like, ‘I just don’t know what else to do with my kids, or my parent passed,’ and I say ‘Oh, I lost a parent too, or I’ve been divorced, also.’ They just want to hear that someone else has been through what they’re going through to motivate them, so that motivates me to keep telling my truth, being transparent and owning every error and mistake. I’m fueled by the fact that it’s not about me. CS: How many people subscribe to Resilient Magazine? TA: It’s a steady climb, but when February’s issue dropped, we had 8,002 digital subscribers and we have about 200+ subscribers for the hard copies. I never expected it to take off like this. I anticipated it, but I don’t set expectations because I don’t like my feelings being hurt, but it was unreal. CS: So you’re climbing this mountain. What does the other side of it look like for you? TA: On the other side of that mountain looks like a place of rest, and what I mean by that is, I’m building all of this for others. I build small businesses so that small businesses can build small businesses. I’m building Resilient Magazine so that the resilient women can build other resilient women. I’m not doing this for the 50-year plaque, or the street named after me, or any of those things. I want to see the longevity in everything that I do, but I do not intend to work so hard at it like this forever. I’m working now so I can rest later, and later is not necessarily old age. Later is when I get to that point where Oprah is holding my magazine. Yes, the magazine will continue on after, but that would have been the upper echelon of my career. For example, I wrote a small article in January’s magazine about Vice President Kamala Harris being Vice President. I had no idea that someone would put me in a position where I could make sure that she got that copy when she came out to Savannah for the campaign rally. When I say that I am being intentional, it is so that I can always be in position, so when you’re talking about the mountain, I’m climbing it to be in position to pass my magazine on to the next person. I am a launch pad. Visit teiaacker.com to find out more about Acker and Resilient Magazine."They just want to hear that someone else has been through what they’re going through to motivate them, so that motivates me to keep telling my truth, being transparent and owning every error and mistake. I’m fueled by the fact that it’s not about me."
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