Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 1 April 2004 — Page 5

The Muncie Times • April 1,2004 • Page 5

2 GAMES. 2 BIG PRIZES.

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TV's Judge Mathis speaks April 22 at Muncie Central High School

By Phyllis Bartleson Michigan Judge Greg Mathis, who went from a high school dropout to celebrity as a TV judge, will make his first visit here when he appears at 6 p.m. April 22 at Muncie Central High School. His speech, to Muncie youths, was made possible by the Muncie MLK Dream Team. Mathis was elected to Michigan's 36th District Court in 1995. His election was a national success story and a symbol of hope, faith and renewal to urban youths struggling to overcome the modern-day pressures of poverty, drugs and violence. Mathis, a former street youth and high school dropout who engaged in lawlessness, turned his life around when his anti-social activities brought him before a caring judge who offered him a stark choice: ged a GED diploma or face some jail time. Mathis opted to get his GED diploma, as ordered by the judge, and then went on to become a committed civil rights activist, public servant and, later, the youngest elected judge in Michigan's history. Today, he is also the star of the successful TV reality show, "Judge Mathis." Mathis's civil rights and public service career began at Eastern Michigan University, where he led the campus "Free South Africa" and voter registration campaigns. In 1983, after graduating from college, he joined the staff of Detroity City Councilman Clyde Cleveland and continued his civil rights activities as part of the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson's Operation PUSH. From 1986 through 1993. Mathis worked for legendary Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Youn, as manager of

Detroit Neighborhood City Halls. Mathis is committed to helping troubled youths in and out of the courtroom. In 1986, he and his wife co-founded Young Adults Asserting Themselves (YAAT), a nonprofit youth agency that serves thousands of young people. The foundation counsels youths from ages 17 to 25 about careers and job opportunities, provides job training and offers school and job placement services, YAATalso opened four preschools in Detroit. Mathis has raised and/or donated over$2 million for a variety of civil rights, political, church and youth causes. Mathis has been featured in many local and national newspapers and magazines and television interviews, including Ebony, Jet, Upscale and Peopler magazines and the television affiliates of ABC, BET, CBS,CNN, Fox and MBC. He has also appeared on the "Jay Leno Show," "Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher. Mathis has received more than 100 awards from mayors, governors, city councils and state legislatures. His inspirational story, of a young man who rose from being a delinquent to a Detroit District Court judge, is chronicled in his autobiography, Inner-City Miracle, published in October 2002 by One World Books, a subsidiary of Random House. Mathis is a lifetime member of the NAACP, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and is a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He and his wife have four children.