>> I'm Tom Scott.
The interview today is with Reverend Stephen Mintz.
And Reverend Mintz let me just begin by asking you,
I know you're a Marietta native.
Could you just talk a little bit about
when you were born and what it was
like growing up in
Marietta and Cobb County in those days?
>> Absolutely. I was born in
1967 at the old Kenningtone Hospital here in Marietta.
And so growing up here,
I was quite adventurous for
a young boy in those days down on
Lemon Street was where we moved to
from out in the country and out in the country.
It was out on San Town Road. That's right.
Near Dallas Highway.
And so we were out there.
My grandfather had a small farm and that was out in
the county back in those days for sure.
So I remember the day we came
to Marietta and I was about five years old.
I remember it. We were walking down.
They had these long sidewalks.
Of course, the buildings were
a lot different than little country houses.
And so I just vaguely remember
looking up and thinking to myself,
wow, look at these buildings
and how they were constructed and the brickwork.
So as we walked down,
I was walking with my brother and my mother, of course,
and just looking around
and as we got settled in the place,
it was quite interesting because they
had a lot of wooded areas back then,
they had a creek, of course,
and then they had a big playground in the center
of the facility of the apartment complex.
All the kids would go out there
and play and they would run,
kick ball, play baseball.
It was quite exciting back then
because that creek is where all the kids wanted to go.
We'd go down there and they
would had craw dads back then,
which we go in the creek and lift rocks and
catch them and then
we'd let them have little fights together.
Things that boys would do and play at.
>> Is this the creek behind
where the old high school used to be? [inaudible]
>> It's the creek behind the old Woods.
>> Were you in Fort Hill?
>> I was in Fort Hill. That's where I
grew up most of my young life.
Absolutely. And so it was just a lot
of fun because you
could get the kids, other kids, we'd go,
we'd play little hunting games,
go into woods and we'd look for treasures in our mind,
we'd have our little treasure hunts and things at
a boy's imagination would just
run wild with you growing up there.
And of course, the old Lemon Street School,
which they had converted to a library.
And that was the most exciting thing
because there they had
all the books and all the things you could go in
and read about history and you could read about sports.
And so my apartment
was adjacent just so I could walk out the door,
walk around the corner, and go right to the library.
>> So you knew Hattie Wilson?
>> I knew Ms. Hattie Wilson quite well.
She was a very interesting person.
She was a disciplinarian.
When she gave you something to do
your homework lessons that were signed by teachers,
she expected you to do it.
And when you didn't do it,
she would remind you you have homework to
do and you'll get over there and you'll
get to it or else,
you can't come back to the library.
So those days, growing up as a young person,
I think it moulded and shaped
my life because reading was very important.
We would have contests during
the summer months to where all the kids would come in and
they would give you 25 books to
read 50 books and whoever read the most books,
you'd get a trophy or a certificate.
So all the kids were excited about that every summer,
we'd all compete to see who could read the most books.
>> How about that?
>> That was a lot of fun.
>> Well, I bet you knew Hugh Grogan very well, too.
>> I knew Hugh Grogan extremely well.
I lived in apartment 1 and then Hugh Grogan,
his mother lived behind us in the next apartment, Well,
I was young when he started
his political career and doing
a lot of the great things he did for the city.
>> But it was about 10 when he got elected.
>> I was about 10 years old, exactly.
I was at Park Street Elementary School.
>> I was going to ask which schools you went to.
Also, I wanted to know, of course, in Fort Hill,
I guess everybody was black in Fort Hill at that time,
but the time you were growing up,
Cobb County was like 4% black, 96% white,
and I would I guess at Park Street school,
it would be overwhelmingly white as well.
What was it like being growing up in a community where
you're a very small minority of the population?
>> Well, everybody knew each other.
You either had a cousin
or you had an aunt or somebody, but all the kids,
we knew each other because either our parents worked
together or either they went to
Lemon Street school or something like that.
But Park Street it was
extraordinary because back then
we had teachers that cared.
Coach Carter.
>> He was there?
>> He was one of my physical education teachers.
>> Oh, I didn't know he was at Park Street.
>> And I think Miss Beth Rambo, I remember her.
She was one of my teachers and so growing up there,
you had music, we did
music class and then physical education science.
But the teachers was my most relevant memory.
Because they were there and they wanted you to learn.
>> Was Beth Rambo part of the Rambo family?
>> She is and was a part of
the Rambo family and that rich history.
She was a small lady, I remember,
maybe 110 pounds, but she was very kind.
She was always kind to the children and
she was also a stickler for education as well.
Extraordinary experience at Park Street.
We had a playground and everybody at
the end of about 12 when you got finished with lunch,
we got to go out on that playground and had seasaws,
seaswing sets, and of course,
you push each other into swing sets and play,
but those were some what I call
shaping and development times
for me as a person growing up.
I think that's one of
the reasons I have been so successful
and I had a pretty good life so
far to those early years of education.
>> Well, it sounds to me like you
had a pretty positive experience.
>> Yes, sir. When teachers in those days,
it wasn't just a job.
It was something they
took a passion to what they were doing.
They wanted you to learn. They wanted you to succeed.
>> It's different now.
>> I do believe that because
of the different circumstances in school,
violence, some schools with drug situations and.
>> You didn't have any of that?
>> We had no violence.
I cannot recall one incidence
of any violence of anybody getting hurt.
Of course, we'd have little boy
fights and wrestling matches,
but quickly, the teachers
they would they would stop that.
>> Mr. Sids. I remember him.
Sids, S-I-D-S.
He was a principal there.
And recalling Mr. Wilson in my memory.
And they would discipline you.
Back then, they called it the board.
They had a paddle about so long and it was wooden.
And they tell you you're
going to get the board or you'll get a paddling.
>> And what did Mr. Wilson teach?
>> Mr. Wilson, he was more on
assist the principal. He wasn't a teacher.
>> Okay.
>> He was just the principal of the school.
>> Both Sids and Wilson were principals?
>> They were principals. One was
an assistant and then one was the actual principal.
But Mr. Sids was a very interesting man.
We would come and he was a bit of an artist.
He would let us draw and he liked artwork.
So we could draw pictures
and he said, "Draw me a picture."
And then we draw him something.
We take it to him and he'd look at it.
And so he even hung some of the pictures the kids drew.
I remember when I drew he hung it in his office.
So that was the interaction between
students and between the principals
and the teachers as well.
I think our system in the schools,
we don't have that now.
The interaction, students and
the teachers and principals on that common level.
Things have changed, I think a bit over the years.
>> Well, you remember starting elementary school.
Did you have kindergarten before?
>> I did kindergarten.
I vaguely remember as the kindergarten class,
but Fort Hill Daycare,
that was a place right there at Fort Hill.
It was different from the actual apartment,
but it sit in the back.
And I can see that in my mind vaguely where we
go over and all the kids that lived there,
we'd go over to the daycare.
So that was more of my kindergarten I think.
>> Well, I guess what I was waiting
with that is you were starting
school only about five years after full integration.
Did you encounter much racism in the school system?
>> I haven't experienced or didn't at that time,
didn't experience any racism from teachers,
from school life in general,
especially at that young time.
I think people were hard working and
trying to learn to collaborate to get along.
Of course, racism existed.
But people in Marietta back in
those days were hard working
and trying to make things
work out and make life for their children.
You know, busy people are happy people,
and they're more susceptible to be peaceful.
Because when you're busy,
you don't have a lot of time to get into things.
>> Okay. Did you go on to,
was it Mariott Junior High or middle school?
>> It was it was Mariott Junior High.
>> Okay.
>> And so Mariott Junior High,
all of us there was that,
you go Park Street that was Lockheed Elementary.
And so we the kids that were in different West side,
we ended up all at Mariott Junior High.
Mariott Junior High was a wonderful experience as well,
because there again, Coach Carter,
you heard his wife who taught Mrs. Carter.
So a lot of it,
they traveled with us as far as being teachers,
and they didn't leave the community, I would say.
They were vested in the community.
I remember Coach Ebble.
He was one of our basketball coach.
>> Ebble?
>> Ebble, E-B-B-L-E.
>> Okay.
>> Coach Alexander.
I remember him.
He too was one of the coaches that taught basketball.
>> So you're tall, if you played basketball.
>> I played basketball.
I played the ninth grade.
I played back then,
I was a little smaller.
I played shooting guard.
As I grew a little bigger,
I played small forward.
But Mariott Junior High,
we had a wonderful basketball team,
the girls and boys.
Miss Sheryl Love.
She was one of the coaches,
she taught tennis back then.
And so we would do tennis,
those that wanted to participate,
and then we'd run track but those teachers,
>> And what did you run?
>> I ran 100 yard dash, then the 75.
>> What is 75?
>> 75 yard you just back then,
they have 100 yard, you could run
that 75 which seemed the fastest.
>> I never heard of a 75 yards.
>> 75 yard dash.
That's what we do 100.
But back then the quickest,
they were they were trying to determine who is the
fastest to put you on
which teams you were going to play on.
Now, if you ran 75 a little faster,
then they put you and say, okay,
we're going to put him with the fast guy.
Of course, 100 yard dash, they do the same.
>> Were you a fast guy?
>> I was pretty quick.
I weighed about 100 and about 130 back in those days.
And I was fast.
>> Okay. Did you keep playing sports in high school?
>> I went from Junior High,
played some football in the ninth grade,
tenth grade, the Junior varsity.
I played the basketball.
And then after that, the sports.
I got more into education.
I was more thinking about tenth grade.
Now, what am I going to do?
Two years left to graduate,
your parents was more thinking,
are you going to go into the military?
Are you going to do back then construction framework
and housing because a lot of
people did that back in those days?
So that's where I was in the 10th grade.
Thinking, well, what am I going to do? What's next?
>> That's smart, I think.
>> Yeah, your parents back then,
they weren't letting you stay around,
they were planning for you to get on your own and
grow up and be a man back in those days,
at least that's what my parents did.
And so you wanted a car.
That was the big thing about being in school,
and when you were in high school, you want a car.
So you knew if you didn't have the money,
you had to go to work and buy one.
So that was the other part of life while you
thinking growing up as a ninth grader or 10th grader.
Some people already had cars.
So that was my big thought buy me a car.
So that was exciting.
>> What was Lemon Street like in those days?
>> Well, it was an adventure
because Lemon Street had
a variety of different types of people.
You had sports people like Dale Ellis
that would come through our neighborhood and he would
coach and teach kids during the summer months.
He'd volunteer and come in
and spend time, we play softball.
And then you had the fun mobile.
Now, this was parks and recs would
sponsor all kinds of recreation for kids there.
And we'd go to six flags and then we'd go out
on the bus would come for
the summer and those kids want to go camping.
We'd get on the bus and we'd go camping for
a week or two and kids come back,
mosquito bites and all
things because you've been out in the woods camping.
The merit parks and recreation was
so important back then.
They played a major part in our lives
there in that little community because they were
always having road shows
and that's where they come in and have concerts
and hot dogs and orange soda
and all the kids would go
out and dance and have a good time.
And Hugh Grogan was really detrimental
in that time because he was important in the way,
I meant important to
the community because a lot of things he did,
it affected our community and made things happen.
When he became the first Black city councilman, wow.
>> Yeah. A lot of opportunities indoors
because he was an advocate.
For that community for so many years.
And he was he was
an important fixture in Marietta and our community.
>> Well, I remember even after
he was on the city council
for every time I drive by Fort Hill,
he'd be out there with a little thing
picking up all the trash around the streets.
>> He was an extraordinary person.
I remember one morning I woke up
and he did this about two or three days
out of the week he'd pick up paper
all over the community and I when I asked him.
And I said, why are you up so
early in the morning and picking up paper and he said,
it's important to take care of where you live,
and it's important that you care.
People like Hugh Grogan was
a big reflection on not just me,
but a lot of people in our community.
He a hero.
In a lot of ways he really was an extraordinary man.
>> Did you go to the canteen?
>> Oh, the canteen was quite an adventure as well.
Because there again, you had the sports activities,
you could play football,
you could do a lot of things.
But one of the wonderful things that we would
do on Fridays or Saturdays at whichever day,
they'd have a party, dance party.
All the kids would come and
they open up and you could go in the back and
the kids would dance and we could
dance with the girls and listen to music.
The canteen was a very very important fixture as
well in the community in more than one aspect,
not just playing sports and coming there.
We had the bumper pool tables, of course,
and we could play bumper pool
and do art in the summer, what have you.
It shaped kids back then
because it gave them some place to go and outlet.
And it gave them something to do.
So wonderful time of my life.
>> Well, I guess it dates me.
I didn't realize that D Ellis
was old enough to be a senior,
a senior guy helping you all at that time.
>> Yeah. You know,
when you're in a community like
like Fort Hill and what have you,
you know, people like
Dale Friday Richards and they stood out.
You never forget people
that do extraordinary things to make
your community look good because we were
all proud to have people like that,
that played sports and they would come back.
That was the exciting part.
I remember when Dale went to Tennessee University
and because we were just
blown away because you could
turn on the TV and there he was.
University of TV Tennessee
and we'd just be like, oh, wow.
And so he came back to the neighborhood the first year.
We didn't see him, but he came back his sophomore year,
and I'll never forget it.
He had a black jaguar, a sun-roof,
a car while he was still in college.
And so he drove up the street.
I just remember it. It was
it was awesome and everybody, all the kids.
In fact, it was near the canteen and he was
driving around the block and all the kids were saying,
there's Dales. There's Dales.
He was a real and still is to this day hometown hero.
He really is to this very day.
Our community here in Cobb and
Marietta it has been an extraordinary experience.
>> Well, I think of Lemon Street.
You've got all those churches along Lemon Street,
and I know that church life was important to you.
Where did you go to church?
>> My Church life began at
the back to the Bible Holdings Church.
>> And that was on Tower Road.
>> That was 601 Tower Road.
Okay. Bishop Raymond Moss.
>> Tell me about Reverend Moss.
>> I met Reverend Moss.
I had a sister my older sister.
She attended the back to the Bible church.
But I was a little kid,
you know, maybe nine, 10.
And then later in the years,
I had a friend of mine who went there,
some schoolmates, some girls.
And so I was invited
there by one of the other ministers or persons,
and so they invited me to come.
And I had a brother,
older brother who his name is
Philip and he was attending the church.
So he said one Sunday morning, come on,
let's go over there to Reverend Moss's Church.
So we went over there one Sunday morning.
I'll never forget it, I had on
a members-only jacket and a pair of blue jeans, Levis.
So the church was small,
it was packed full of
people and they had an organist and he
was playing that organ and the music was just wonderful.
As they begin to
stop the praise service or what have you,
there was a man he walked up the aisle,
he had on a blue suit and back then thee were
vest stock he built and looked like
a football player and he had a bible in his hand.
It was a big bible and it was blue.
And everybody got quiet when
he walked in and everybody started saying,
that's the pastor.
That's Reverend Moss.
So he walked up and he was walking going up in
the pool pit and I was on the front row
and I I looked over at him.
And so he got up in the pool pit.
And that people were all praising the Lord,
but they got rather quiet.
He began to get ready to preach the word of God.
And that was the most awesome thing I ever
heard from any pastor in my whole entire life.
Revend Moss was a major impact on
my life as a man and on my ministry to this very day.
He was an astounding human being,
and a stellar person.
I remember the message so
vaguely that he preached those many, many years ago.
Come unto me all year that labor and heavy laden,
and I'll give you rest for your soul.
That was the message he preached that day.
And it was amazing.
Infact, that day, he called
me up after the service because they would ask you
to come up for prayer and I didn't know
what to expect because I didn't go to church,
like most people, church-going.
But he called me up and said, young man.
He said, come up here.
And he said, Would you like to be saved?
I didn't even know what that was [LAUGHTER].
But he called me up and he prayed for me.
You know, in the Pentecostal churches,
they'll pray and they'll put your hand,
they'll pray over your head.
Well, that's what he had done.
I was about 16 years old when that experience happened.
And from that experience,
there's where my ministry and church life began at
Reverend Moss's Church and
under his great and profound ministry.
>> Well, holiness is not Pentecostal.
>> No, Pentecostal and
holiness is the same thing that's just worded.
It's just the way they use the words.
>> Anybody speaking in tongues?
>> Yeah, see Pentecostal,
it represents the day of Pentecost,
when the Holy Spirit came down
and the people received it in the upper room.
And then they just used the term holiness because
that's just a lifestyle consecration and prayer,
no smoking or drinking,
that's a clean lifestyle,
is what that betrays when
you hear that terminology, holiness.
>> Now, is back to the Bible still in Cobb County?
>> The Back to the Bible Church of course
Bishop Moss passed away some years ago,
between 10 years,
I want to say in 12,
that church on Tower Road was purchased by Creflo Dollar.
>> Really?
>> Yes, sir. So Back to the Bible church,
it's still in existence,
but not here in Cobb County.
>> He died in 2007.
>> Yes, sir. Absolutely. So it's
it's been some time ago.
>> So but I saw a Back to
the Bible church somewhere in North Georgia, didn't?
>> There's one in Athens,
Georgia I know specifically.
Now, Reverend Moss had 14 different churches that
he pastored.
Those churches he built himself a lot of them.
But the only one I can
remember is the one that's in Athens.
There was one in Alabama that they changed the name.
So I only can remember that one in Athens.
There could be one here I don't know of.
>> I can't recall. I thought I saw it
and I didn't write down where it
was somewhere in North Georgia.
But okay. So you would have
graduated from high school about 1985.
>> '86.
>> '86. And then what did you do after that?
>> Well, after I graduated I
was going into the military at an Air Force recruiter.
But when I had visited Reverend Moss Church,
the preaching of the word of God,
it changed my whole life because then I started to
desire in my heart and in
my spirit I wanted to do the Lord's will.
And so I feel at that time
the call of God it came upon my life.
The more the word of God I heard and the more I went to
church the stronger the call and the need to obey God.
It grew stronger.
And that's when my ministry began.
Bishop Moss, he traveled a lot.
He'd go to Alabama,
Tennessee, places and he would preach the gospel.
And so I started riding with him.
I was one of the younger men in the church so they would
take you under their wing
because they wanted to keep an eye on you.
Make sure you stayed in
the church and you did the right thing.
So I would go to Reverend Moss,
I would go to his home
and he had a big garden and we would work there.
>> Where did he live?
>> Over on Page Street.
Well, it's North Mary at a parkway now
but it was Page Street back then they changed the name.
But I'd go over there and
his wife was an awesome cook and
she'd make homemade biscuits and she'd
have fried salmon patties.
And so we'd have some food and
go out and work in the yard and on
Thursday nights we'd go to
Bible study over in Anneston Alabama.
And so that was some of the beginnings
of my ministerial training.
Learning about how to minister
the word and how to reach people because we go
into communities and knock on doors and Reverend Moss had
a big tent and they do tent revivals
and all the people would come from
different places under that big tent revival.
And in the summer we spent more time working doing
the tent revivals and traveling
across the country reaching souls for the Lord.
>> So I had 2000.
The year 2000 you entered
the ministry but you got 14 years between '86 and 2000.
Is that when you're traveling with him?
>> In '86 I graduated.
I began to travel.
Somewhere about I want to say '88, '89,
we traveled from there all the way up to 2000.
I spent 25 years just nothing but ministry,
more or less training and teaching.
And so after that the traveling,
the training, I started going out.
I got ordained as a minister.
Now mind you in '86 I'm just born again.
I'm just a 16 year old young man and then '87, '88.
I'm still young in those days.
>> Sure.
>> And I want to say 2000,
a little 2000 maybe '10 somewhere in there.
Reverend Moss, I was over on Lemon Street.
I'll never forget it. I was sitting in my car.
And he drove by in his car and he rolled the window down
and it was different from other times because many
times he'd drive by and he'd say hello and keep going.
And he drove by this specific day
and he rolled the window down.
And I'll never forget what he said.
He called me Steve.
He always called me, Steve, never called me Reverend,
never called me anything.
He just called me my name.
Steve. He had this stint way he'd say that.
And this particular day he rolled
his window down and he looked over and he said,
"Steve, the Lord is calling you to preach."
I never forget that day.
And so that Sunday came back to church,
I went back and he called me down there in front of
the full church on a Sunday and everybody was there.
I'll never forget it, and he said,
I want all of you to know that the Lord has called
Steve to preach the Gospel, and he said,
come down here and I walked
down there in front of a whole audience of people.
That was the most nervous time in my life I ever had.
And he prayed for me and ordained me that day,
a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's very moving and touching thought.
It touches me because
that was one of the major impacts of my life.
>> Why don't you talk a little bit about your ministry.
We're going to talk a lot about
your ministry but why don't you
begin talking about those early days of your ministry,
were you preaching at
particular churches or a particular church or what?
>> Well, it was a Sunday morning the first
time I ever preached in any church.
It was on a Sunday morning and we'd all the ministers,
the young ones and old would go into pulpit.
And so this particular Sunday,
I knew something was up because
Bishop Moss he kept turning and looking at me.
And I was wondering why does he keep looking at me?
Well, the service was going on
and they got up and did the offering.
And so he walked up after they did
everything and he turned and he
looked at me and I knew that,
that was the day he was going to have me to come up.
Now, mind you, I had never
preached to an audience of people.
I had never had that experience.
But that day I got on a job training.
And so he looked over and said,
today we're going to have Reverend Mintz,
he's going to come share with you
all with the Lord has laid on his heart.
And I was like a kid at Christmas, wow.
>> And so I got up and walked over and stood beside him.
He was always a fatherly figure and a great mentor.
And he put his arm on my shoulders and he said,
the Lord is with you and turned around
and walked away and sit down and left
me up there and I just begin to share
my testimony of how the Lord had
saved me and I become born again.
That was the first beginning of my preaching experience.
Of course, after that,
I would travel to
Alabama and other places and minister the Word of God.
I did a lot of
Bible studies in our church
there at the back to the Bible.
A lot of street ministry.
In those days, I'd go out and
just preach to people around the corner,
in the grocery store, wherever.
>> Well, now, did you
have to have another job to support yourself
or was back to the Bible.
I guess affluent enough to support several ministers.
>> In those days my primary job,
I was an exterminator. I worked.
I did termite inspections
and that's what I did for a number of years.
You supported yourself in those days,
that was one of the interesting things
about ministry then.
You had a job,
you did the ministry.
They both coincided.
You always had a job because,
Bishop Moss was a stickler for a man having a job.
That was one of his profound things about a work ethic.
Because he of course,
had about 14 kids,
I think it was about 14 to 15,
but he was a master carpenter.
He could build a house from the ground,
but that's what I do.
I'd do the termite work
and then I learned carpentry later,
painting because those are some of
the skills that you would
get from working in the ministry with him.
Now, when you travel,
you just didn't preach.
You put up tents,
you'd paint whatever the call of duty was,
you would do it, vacuum,
mop whatever it was.
So it kept you busy.
It was a very busy life and busy time,
but it it shaped me as a man,
and I think those days and things helped me out a lot.
>> Well, I know you've been
involved with greater Community Church of God in Christ
and it seems like there's another church right
now that you're involved in too, isn't it?
>> The greater Grace International.
It was Church of God and
Christ, Pastor Christopher Walker.
I met him about I want to say ten years or so ago.
But he recently just his name
changed because he's not any longer,
he's not COGIC or Church of God in Christ.
He just kind of went off on his own.
But pastor Walker and I at that time,
I preached and ministered.
I was a given the title of political liaison.
That was the job that I was given with
his church because mind
you after so many years of working in the community,
politicians would come down to Fort Hill
because Fort Hill was a great voting block, you know.
They wanted to be elected.
And then Hugh Grogan,
he was a political master mind, what I call him.
And so they come down and I learned a lot about politics,
government, getting people elected.
So that's why when I went to that church Greater Grace,
the pastor knew my reputation
of helping getting people elected.
I'd worked with Joyette Holmes,
David Wilkerson, Ms. Jane Manning,
who's Judge Manning now.
I worked with Buddy Darden,
I've worked with Mr. Darden, former congressman.
>> Sure.
>> So those were some of the experiences that I got from
Fort Hill that I could take on to the churches.
Because when it was time to be elected,
that's where the politicians would come to the churches.
>> Sure.
>> And so that was my experience.
>> Yeah. I know that as I I'm Baptist,
it seemed like they all hit
the church right before the election.
>> Absolutely.
>> By Roy Barnes and all.
>> Absolutely.
>> All of them.
>> I've worked with Mr. Barnes as well.
I know Roy quite well.
>> So now, the Greater Grace, where is that located?
>> It was on 954 Bank Street down in Smyrna, Georgia.
But what happened was just here a year ago,
Pastor Walker was gifted a new church.
He was given a church by the Baptist Foundation.
I want to call I can't think of the name,
but they gave him a church over on Olive Springs Road.
And so that's where the church is now.
>> Greater Grace.
>> Greater Grace is now on Olive Springs Road now,
but he still owns both churches.
There he is. He's just he
rents out one and the other one,
he's just over there.
That's his primary church that
he uses, where he ministers.
And so that's kind of the experience
with that Greater community.
I've been attending that for
about 11 years, their prayer service.
Every morning, they have a 9:00 AM intercessory prayer.
And so that's where I go.
I don't go five days a week because of my work schedule,
but I go two or three days
a week and you charge up in prayer.
You know, you get your spiritual exercise
or whatever you want to call it.
And then you go back out there into the outreach into
the world and reach people and pray with them.
>> Well, let's talk about some of the I guess
the good works that you've done in the community.
Maybe, first of all, let's
just talk since you brought it up,
the political liaison,
you were the political liaison for Greater Grace?
>> At that time,
I was their political liaison up until the point I was
put on the advisory board with
the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.
>> So you're not anymore.
>> So I'm not doing a lot
of political things for the church.
I'm more focused now because
the job with Commissioner Richardson,
it's a big job.
I am the chief of vulnerable populations there.
And so that entails homeless, handling immigration,
situations with people domestic violence,
dealing with young people
with juveniles that get into things.
So that's where that job capacity
is on her advisory board.
But I still use the political influence,
politicians and people to get
things done in the community.
So that's the good part.
You don't ever lose the things you have.
You just take the resources to
another platform and you utilize those in a way.
Let's say if somebody need somebody to housing.
If they need situations with utilities.
You know, you can go to
the board and talk with the commissioners.
They have all the resources and different things
and facilitate that to help people.
>> Jerica Richardson's District II,
which is East Cobb, I guess.
>> That covers Vinings, Buckhead.
All of Johnson's Ferry.
It's East Cobb District II it's extremely large.
>> Yes. And it used to be by bot in that district.
And well, what is the ethnicity of that district is
it you think East Cobb is predominantly white
and she's the first African American commissioner
for that district.
>> Yeah. East Cobb is not predominantly white
anymore because you have the Indian ethnicities there.
You have black, you have white, you have Chinese.
It's a melting pot, I would say.
You have Spanish people that are in East Cobb,
it's quite a change from
the the old East Cobb, I would say.
>> Well, the county has changed big time everywhere.
It has recent years and might be
something we can talk about along the way.
>> Absolutely.
>> That's what I was thinking when you started out,
Cobb County was 96% white.
Now, I think non Hispanic white are less than 50% now.
>> Absolutely. It's been a big change.
>> And well, just look at the schools like Wheeler.
And they've changed in ethnicity group there.
>> Yes, it has.
>> Van Worthy talking about when she was
the only Black student at Wheeler,
it's changed a lot since then.
So Commissioner Richardson has a community.
I'm trying to get the right term for it.
>> Community Advisory Board.
>> I had community advisory cabinet.
>> But Board cabinet.
I'm just wondering, do all of the commissioners have
a community advisory cabinet or is this unique to her?
Did Bob have one before him?
>> Well, Commissioner Richardson,
this board that she uniquely put together.
I think Madam Chair has a board as well.
I think Lisa Kuper has a board as well.
>> Of course, Lisa Kuper got elected Commission Chair and
Jerica Richardson got elected to
the Commission last year 2020.
>> Exactly. So I
think they all have some degree of board,
but Commissioner Richardson's board
is unique in its diversity.
I've been to meetings where they had a guy from Russia.
They have people that are Spanish,
they have Black, they have White.
And so the way she structured it
in regards to vulnerable populations.
You've got recreation.
You have so many it's 31 people on that board. Exactly.
>> How often do you meet?
>> We meet at least twice a month.
Now, because of COVID,
we were meeting you know,
socially just over at Sewer Mill's library,
but because of COVID, we went back to virtual.
But at least twice a month.
>> Sea Mills is in her district.
>> Sea Mills library is over on Roswell Road.
Is on Lower Roswell?
>> And that's her district.
Well, I was just going to say,
I dare say I doubt if there has
ever in the history of Cobb County,
been a commissioner who had a chief of
vulnerable population on a advisory board.
Do you think that would be a fair assessment?
>> I think it would be a wonderful assessment
because I actually worked on her campaign.
And so we went to Starbucks.
>> She's like, 33 years old or something out there.
>> She's 32 years old.
Yeah. She's extraordinary, but we went to Starbucks.
I don't I can't remember what
I wanted to meet her for something.
And I said, let's meet and talk.
So we're drinking coffee and we're
laughing and talking about the campaign,
and I said, Wow,
it's awesome that you won.
And she said, yeah, it's just terrific.
So she had a little attached case down beside her.
And so as we were talking
and she's always busy with her laptop.
She's very busy person.
And so I noticed she was busy but she every now and then,
she'd looked down at
the laptop and I was making her laugh,
telling her stuff and so
she stopped and she looked and she said,
Stephen, I have something I'd like to ask you.
>> She called you Stephen.
Most people call you Stephen or Steve.
>> Well, it just depends on my relationship with.
Yeah. A lot of people call me Steve,
my family members, and then some people prefer Stephen,
but she calls me Stephen.
And so she was talking to me and at the same time,
she reached down into
her little attache case and she said,
I have something I'd like to ask you if you'd like to do.
Then I said, well, what is it?
And in her hand was a little proposal for
the job of vulnerable populations.
And so I had no idea what it entailed, didn't know,
because I've worked a lot of campaigns,
but nobody ever offered me after
the job or the campaign
was over to come to work with them.
And when she pulled the proposal out, there it was.
She said, would you like to be a part of
the cabinet that I'm putting
together for my years in office and I said, Oh, wow.
And she said here, look at it.
And so I looked at it and I didn't I didn't
gather the amount of work
that it would be because
I didn't I've never done it before.
But as the year went by,
and this is the first year,
it's been quite an experience in doing this job,
vulnerable populations. I've learned a lot.
>> Well, I'm delighted to
hear that she's taking the job so
seriously in such a scholarly manner.
Because I can feel like you've got
so many new people to their job on
the commission right now that it seems
like they've been working on the job this year.
>> She, I would say is
one of the most serious people that I've ever
met in in this job capacity as
commissioner because every board meeting,
the BLC meetings, she'll come back
even before and she'll have
the big textbook or
whatever they go over
the meetings in the codes and the laws.
She'll spend at least 30 minutes and
explain to those people in East column online,
just telling them this is what's going to go on in
this code and this is going to
happen with the meeting and she's
very passionate about her job.
>> Good. Well,
let's talk about some of the works that you've done.
I know that I guess for a long time you involved well,
while Fort Hill was still there,
with children in that community.
Could you talk a little bit about taking
on field trips and so on. What were you doing?
>> Well, the library was
still there and so the kids would go there.
And one of the things that the children love,
they love to go to the store.
There was a little community store down on Lemon Street.
And so what I would do with kids,
is a community little grocery store.
It sit right on the corner in front of Cal Street Church.
So it sit right there Daryl ma.
>> I know where you're talking about.
That's the district.
>> Exactly. So the kids like ice cream,
and one of my things to do was say okay, kids,
you do your homework, you get good grades,
you come back to me,
and I'm going to get you ice cream.
Well, that gave them the biggest incentive
is to go down and do good in school.
And the first methodist church,
Mr. Forrest Case and Brian McNair.
They were instrumental in helping us to get those kids
started going on field trips to six flags.
And one summer, they all came over.
Forrest, Brian McNair, the church.
They came over and they began
to interact in that community in a real way.
The kids went horseback riding and
they went on different field trips.
And the first Methodist Church funded it.
They paid for everything.
And so that was a partnership between
For Hill and the First Methodist Church.
And that started with a fellowship with Forrest,
myself, Brian McNair, and other members of their church.
And it was a great outreach program
that went on for a few years.
Even after we had moved out of that community,
they still carried on some of the work there.
That was some of the field trips because back then,
those projects had to be funded.
Somebody had to pay for it.
And that year and even after the first Methodist Church,
their benevolence and love to
that community was overwhelming.
>> Where all did you go on the church terms?
>> The first year,
we went six flags.
Then there was a horse.
I remember we went horseback riding.
None of the kids had ever ridden horses before.
So there was a farm where they had horses
out somewhere in West Cobb say it was in West Cobb.
I don't remember where,
but it was in West Cobb and I never
forget those kids when they came and looked
at those horses and out on
that little farm and they were so amazed.
And one of the young ladies,
I never forget it we couldn't get her off the horse.
She just kept courting around and round,
and some of the boys were scared of the horses.
But that young lady,
she just kept riding the horse.
>> What about those folks going
to that used to be in Fort Hill?
>> Well, what happened when Fort Hill was
torn down, Powder Springs,
Aust, Mapleton, a lot of
the kids and their families moved out of the area.
And I think they had a lot of vouchers or what have you,
Section 8 vouchers that were given to the families.
And so all of those children,
I've seen maybe two or three of
those kids that we were
able to interact with over those many,
many years, they were all moved out of the community.
And that was a sad time to
minister and worked that long with kids,
and they all moved away.
And it was an uncertain time
whether you'd ever see them again,
what would happen to their education.
So for me, that was one of the painful times in my life
because those children were
a very intricate part of my life and ministry.
>> Well, the housing authority operates on
the assumption that there were
too much bad influences in the housing projects and
people would be better off if they could be integrated
into working class neighborhood.
Do you think that it was true?
>> No, I don't think it's true.
Because over the years,
what I've seen in working in
public housing and living there.
People become family.
You watch a kid grow up from
here and that kid grows up to be an adult.
Well, your influence as
a positive person like Hugh Grogan,
had not grown up there in that community,
Hugh Grogan's positive influence
wouldn't have impacted my life.
Provided in every community,
there are some bad influences.
But Fort Hill had a lot
of positive people that interacted,
if they didn't live there,
they interacted Ms. Hattie Wilson,
Hugh Grog and Felicia Wilson, her daughter.
>> Work in favor.
>> Well, I saw where
Elizabeth Porter lived over there at one time.
>> Miss Elizabeth Porter,
so many different important people
that impacted Cole in the City of Mary.
They actually originated in
some form way from public housing at Fort Hill.
Friday Richardson, they used to live there.
It's just I think in a community,
there is negative and there's positive.
But in Fort Hill,
I think there was a lot of
positive people that impacted younger people growing up.
So I don't think more or less the rule
of get all the bad out,
make it a better place.
I just over my 30 something years.
I I didn't see that.
>> I know you did some work with
Mount Sinai Bad children too on Christmas.
Make sure they had presents
for Christmas, is that the idea?
>> Yeah. Pastor Pierce Lad,
he too grew up.
>> Slade?
>> S-L-A-D-E.
>> He's a historic church
that goes back to the Jonesville.
>> Precisely. Pastor Slade grew up in the community.
I knew his his mom.
She was an organist.
I knew his family and
so when he wanted to become a pastor,
he was a member of Zion Baptist.
He was always a minister there.
Well, when Mount Sinai needed a pastor,
people in the community came together and they said,
"Okay, who will be a good pastor?"
So people Pastor Slade wants to get the opportunity.
So we all got together and we decided to support him.
And that's how I kind of got involved.
You know, my years of growing up here,
I think I've been involved in
every church on Sinai, because it doesn't.
>> Sound like there's any denominational rivalry there?
>> There was no rival rivalries
with me because I knew the people.
And we all had one common goal.
We wanted to see our community become
a better place to live
and we love God and we wanted to help.
And so for Christmas,
the kids at Mount Sinai.
They were wonderful kids.
They sang in the choir.
I knew the kids from the community.
I knew pastor slave.
And so that Christmas,
I said down to myself.
I said, well, what can we do to help
out get the kids and presents, more presents?
And Perry Price, who's
a very good friend of mine who knows all the lawyers.
He knows all the judges.
>> I think he knows everybody.
>> He knows everybody.
And so I said to him, I said, Perry,
I want to get
some money to help the kids. And he said, okay.
He said, I know just where to take you to.
And he took me to one of his friends who was a lawyer.
And we went down,
talked and talked about the community,
how we were helping because everybody
knew that what I did in the community,
how I loved and helping with kids.
And so one of Perry's friends down at one of the offices,
he donated that year
a nice financial contribution to Mount Sinai.
And that's how we were able to buy those toys
that year to help those kids with Christmas.
>> Is that still going on?
>> Due to COVID, a lot of
the church has gone virtual, very few churches.
Some have gone back to regular service,
but I think Mount Sinai,
I don't think they've gone back
to full social activities.
I think a lot of churches are still doing virtual.
I don't know for Christmas what they'll do,
but I just it's cut down on.
Yeah. It's cut down because of COVID.
>> I know you've done work with special needs children.
Can you talk about that a little bit?
>> Yes. For the last eight years,
I've worked for a company
called Comfort Community Center.
And that company takes care of special needs kids
with disabilities and behaviors, of course.
And so in working with
the special needs kids they have the behavior issues.
And over the last eight years I learned
how to deal with kids with those problems.
Let's say, for instance,
if they start yelling because they have behavior issues.
You may be driving the car and they break out
screaming or want to run away.
And so what I would do with the kids,
I have one particular kid that I worked with
more than any other kid.
They would just start screaming
and then I'd start crying.
That was one of my things I'd say,
Oh, I can't believe you're doing this to me today,
and then she'd look and say,
""Mr. Steve, are you okay?
And I'd say, I'm
really hurting today. I'm really hurting.
So learning how to deal with them,
learning how to handle
their personalities because a
lot of them the one I worked
with particular and she has a behavior issue and
sometimes she gets mad and she yells and screams.
But over the eight years,
I think she's made me a better Christian.
>> I had to look up the website for
a Comfort Community Center.
I was not aware of it before,
but Sandy ins Road?
>> Yes, sir.
>> And so tell me who is
Emmanuel and I'm probably mispronouncing it Whorton?
>> Emmanuel is the actual founder.
He founded that entire organization.
He started with two or three kids.
And now he has a large facility.
He has several group homes.
>> How do you pronounce his last name?
>> It's Whorton, W-H-O-R-T-O-N.
I would pronounce it Emmanuel Whorton.
He is of African descent.
He was educated in London, England,
very educated and very intelligent man.
>> So you've been doing that for eight years?
>> Eight years. This is
my eighth year at the end of December.
>> How much time did you devote to that?
>> Well, it's a part of my ministry.
It's a part of the ministry.
I think I've been blessed the things that I
do politically, job wise.
All of it has been
compartmentalized uniquely together that's
a part of my ministry,
helping the kids that are handicapped,
working with the homeless.
It it's just all worked out for
a wonderful wonderful experience.
>> I know you've done some work with single mothers
and children related to, I guess.
>> Absolutely. I started doing
a single mothers ministry in Fort Hill.
There was a young lady named Mika.
That was what they called her.
She had five daughters.
And all five of them would go over to
the library over there.
And so each of them their names started with an
a, Analia, Angelica.
They all had it was a unique I've never
seen all five daughters with the name of an a.
But anyway, you know,
she was a single mom, working hard.
Taking care of her kids.
And so, you know,
your heart goes out because
my mother was a single mother as well,
working and trying to raise five kids, working two jobs.
So that's kind of where my passion for single mothers
comes from because my mother was a single mother.
And in Fort Hill, That's what you had.
You had a lot of single mom,
some with two kids,
some with three kids.
And so it gives
you compassion to want to do what you can,
whether it's buy school, books, clothes,
Christmas gifts, a lot of
my political candidates and
friends over the years, you know,
I just tell them, they wouldn't pay me money,
but they'd say, what can we do for you,
Stephen, for working and helping.
I said, Well, I got some kids.
They need some clothes, you know,
they need some Christmas and
those people over the years would pitch in and help.
>> Well, you know, you think historically,
the Black community really
was like everybody was helping everybody else?
>> Yes.
>> It sounds like you're part of that tradition.
>> It is an awesome tradition,
handed down from one person to another,
and then it's apart.
And when you grow up there,
it becomes a part of.
>> I know you've done some work with the elderly as well.
Can you talk about that?
>> Oh, yes. That's that's one of my fun times.
The elderly helping them cut grass,
you know, just come sitting with them, talking with them.
Some of them they're in their 80s and, you know,
retired, getting Thanksgiving turkeys
and different things like that.
We've been able to use some of
our own moneyes to help with that.
Elderly people are special to me and
my heart because all of them have a story to tell.
And that's what's been so exciting for
me because they can tell you about
the old days and how they had to
draw water from the wells and,
you know, most of them grew up in the country times and,
you know, they're good cooks, they're good bakers.
And so, you go and share and fray with them,
they'll offer you slice of cake, some pie.
So those are little treats along the way you get
from doing this extraordinary job of helping people.
>> Well, I know you're a poet also.
>> I am. I have some poetry.
I have published as well.
>> Do you want to say anything more about that?
>> Well, I love poetry because, you know,
life itself, it's the way God's created the world.
It's on the balance.
You look at the wind and the air.
Poetry for me has been a way to turn aside
and rehabilitate what I look at
and what I see every day of my life,
it's a part of a melody,
being a minister, helping people at all.
Life is it's supposed to flow smoothly, like a waterfall.
I just rays of the sun it's supposed to project that way.
So being able to write and express myself in
poetry and sharing it with others and publishing some.
That's just one of the many talents and gifts
God has given me to share with other people.
>> You sing in the brand.
>> I was in the choir at the back to
the Bible Church. At one time.
Interesting story, my brother and I was
there in the choir singing.
And so, you know,
over time, I still sing,
but I don't sing in the choir anymore.
>> Well, you won a ton of awards.
Why don't we start with that NAACP COM ACP award
for citizen of the year in 2014.
How did that come about?
>> Well, you know, Trevon Martin
passed away with his death.
There was a March that came about.
And over the years, things like that,
you know, they will call upon people to
participate in the NAACP actively like that.
And so, in my heart, I wanted to help.
I wanted to be a part of that.
So one particular time we march from
the Cobb Civic Center to the Merita Square.
It's raining that day and you got all the leaders out,
misses Bonner and so many more out
passionately, fighting for, justice.
And so that was one of the things and then
voter registration when you're
working politically in the community,
you want people to vote.
You want him to be a part
of what's going on in their community.
So I think for me,
that award was given to me by misses Bonner.
I've known her for many,
many years, outstanding person.
We had worked together behind the scenes,
doing things with Fort Hill
because she was instrumental and always helping.
And so I think over the years,
I was introduced to her by Hugh Grogan.
And I would go to a home
and being a termite person and Specter,
I had many skills and I
could provide those skills to help people.
And so I think over the years,
misses Bonner watched me growing up and working and
so I think that's how that came about that,
she wanted to let me know how much they appreciated me in
the community and as a NAACP member actively working.
>> It sounds like they don't let her retire
because she seems like she's still very busy.
>> She is Miss Bonner is one of
the most extraordinary persons I've ever met in my life.
She is a true facet of
this and pillar of this community. Without a doubt.
>> Have you been involved with the NAACP for a long time?
>> I 2014. Of course,
I knew her for years.
Hugh Grogan introduced me.
And so I would do voter registration,
help people, in the community vote,
go out and compel them. Come on. Let's vote.
And I think my active part in the NAACP in 2014,
and in the years even before 2014.
It's just being there, supporting June teen,
you know, being active,
not being more or less out front,
but just being a person in the community that's
helping people and fighting for justice,
making sure people are treated fair,
that's where all that stems in.
Really my whole life has been to fight for justice.
I've helped to fight to organize unions.
I've done a lot of things in
the community that were more not
publicly displayed but
just humble things trying to help out.
>> Which union?
>> The AFLCIO, I was working for
a company called New Skin distribution.
>> What's that?
>> New Skin.
>> News Skin?
>> New Skin Distribution was
a cosmetics distribution company
that they had on 1,100 Williams Drive.
And so they made cosmetics for people: lipstick,
hair, nails, whatever you want to want to think of.
And so this was a company that was owned by Mormons.
It was the Mormon owned company.
And people were working long hours at
three shifts and the company
is making a lot of money, but they weren't paying.
So some guys got together and organized
the union and one day I went to
my workstation and there was a union brochure.
Though I had never been affiliated with the union,
but I kept looking and wondering what are they doing?
And so some of the guys got together and said,
Steve, you're a good talker.
I was always a good talker.
Why don't you speak and talk to the people?
So I ended up helping to organize a union there.
And we won.
>> You did.
>> We actually won.
And the company was unionized.
They shortly closed down later,
but we did win.
>> The company closed down?
>> It closed down about a year later.
They paid seven pay and
benefits and all that to the people
for some months and even gave
the job training out of that situation.
>> I know you got a I guess
proclamation from the commission,
I guess just September,
wasn't it? What was that for?
>> That was for the 30 something years of
overall working in the community from ministry,
single moms, politically helping out with campaigns
and helping young people when I joined the board.
Commissioner Joanne Beryl is a very good friend of mine.
Okay. And so that is how that became
something that she got
together and we talked and she said,
Stephen, let's do it.
You've done your work, you've been here,
and I want to help you and
get your proclamation here in Cant county.
And so that's how that came about.
>> So Joanne Beryl was behind it.
>> Joanne Beryl was
instrumental behind that proclamation.
Of course, Commissioner Richardson,
also a part of it,
because had she not placed me on
her board and supported me,
that could have never happened.
Those two ladies are
two of the most instrumental people in my life.
>> Well, I guess I'm a little surprised Joanne Beryl,
she is a Republican, East Cobb and so on.
>> I am a Republican.
>> You are?
>> I am a Republican.
>> That's interesting.
>> Yes, sir.
>> Of course, she is, be all African Americans were
Republican before Franklin Roosevelt.
>> Absolutely.
>> And especially before Minda Johnson.
>> That's very true.
>> So you still are. So I
guess it would be an obvious question.
What is it about the Republican Party that.
>> I as a minister
over the years because I was
a Democrat for many, many years.
The conservative views of pro life,
number 1, I think that's
my greatest stand of supporting life.
I believe that all life is precious and sacred to God.
Because we were all created in God's image.
And so that's one of the major things.
Then the conservative view of hard work,
helping people is good,
being a humanitarian is wonderful,
but you have to help people to help themselves,
teaching people to work hard and
giving them a hand up and not so much as a hand out.
I think that's one of my other strong passions.
Even working with the homeless
Commissioner Richardson and
I have put together a program called Bridges for success,
and that is to work with COB works,
helping people get jobs,
helping them work and to take care of themselves.
So that's the second passion
that I have as far as a conservative, a Republican.
The other one is my son's in the military.
He's in the United States Navy.
I believe in America.
I believe in the free enterprise,
work hard and you can achieve your dreams and goals.
That's my conservative view.
>> Do you feel
you're well accepted in the Republican Party?
>> I do. I have a lot of
Republican friends and Joanne Beryl
, Governor Brian Kemp.
And Sally Grubbs, who is the new chairman of
the Republican Party here in
Co. She is one of my dear friends.
She's like a big sister to me.
Jason Shepherd, who was
the former president there at the GOP chairman.
So I have a lot of
conservative support around Cobb even around the country.
>> You mentioned Joe Holmes earlier on.
How long have you known her?
>> I met Joe Holmes at Fort Hill.
It's been at least close to
15 a little bit more than 15 years because there again,
she was running for office.
And I was at Coltet Baptist Church sitting on
the stairs in the summertime
and She didn't know her way around the city.
And so she came in up and she wanted
directions to Shelton's funeral home.
And so I said,
ma'am, you go up street,
turn left, go right,
and she said, she shook her head.
She said, I don't know the air.
I said, well. I'm telling you how to get there, ma'am.
And she swung her car door open.
And she said, why don't you
come and show me how to get around there.
And that was the beginning of Joe Holmes and
my relationship professionally working
in the community. I didn't know her.
I've never met her a day in my life.
I was sitting there and she said.
And from that we formed a bond friendship over the years.
>> Well, I was surprised she got video last year,
but it was a Democratic takeover of the county.
>> It was a takeover.
>> In 2012.
>. That's exactly what it was. Absolutely.
>> Well, that maybe reads into Governor Kemp
giving you I guess a proclamation also.
>> I met Governor Kemp two years ago
when about two or three years I became a Republican.
I was invited up to
Johns Creek where they were holding a Republican meeting.
A lady by the name of Pamela Reardon invited me up there.
I met her over at MLK over Turner Chapel.
And so she said, Stephen,
we're going to hold a debate and we
want you to come over up to Johns Creek.
James Flanagan and Travis Clavlon and
all those good people working in the Republican Party,
they said, okay, come up here, Stephen.
The district attorney,
Flynn Broady and I got together and met at Starbucks.
>> He's the one that defeated Joy.
>> He's the one that defeated her.
>> You're with both.
>> I was with Flynn,
Joy was my friend.
At that time, I didn't have a car.
I said, Flynn, I
think we should go up there and talk to him.
We should see what's going on.
And he said, well, Stephen,
I'm working, I'm running my campaign.
I said, okay. So finally,
me and him got together with one of
the secretaries and up to Johns Creek, we went.
That was the change of my political affiliation from
Stout Democrat to a new born Conservative Republican.
That happened like that.
Flynn got up.
I was up first and we were talking about immigration and
all this stuff and some of
the Conservatives were yelling and screaming.
We were supporting one thing
and the Republicans that I had been invited up,
Pam Reardon, I can't forget her.
She said, no,
Stephen is my friend.
We brought him up here and we're going to be civil.
We're not going to act like that.
And then she supported me and
the others supported my views
of what I believe passionately
about God and all people are equal.
I said, wow, that's interesting.
Flynn, he shook his head and I
had to ride back with him and then
the other lady, she was not happy.
She said, I told Flynn,
we should leave you up here because
she had a stronger stand on pro-choice.
And then when I supported pro-life,
she was not happy with that.
Flynn said, no, we got to take him home.
[LAUGHTER] He drove me [OVERLAPPING].
>> The Democrats didn't like what you were saying?
>> No. The Democrats were not happy
with my pro-life stand.
[LAUGHTER] I remember the lady
vaguely saying I told Flynn,
we should leave you up here [LAUGHTER].
>> Well, I guess both parties have [inaudible]
>> [LAUGHTER] Indeed, they do.
>> And then I guess David Wilkerson must have gotten you
that resolution from the Georgia house.
>> Yeah. I knew David there again,
back to the housing Fort Hill
again, everything was paramount.
I met David and he was running for State rep.
He was an accountant.
We met at a huddle house.
I went to a huddle house over on South Marta Parkway.
He said, Stephen,
I want to run now.
I said, well, David, people knew I lived at Fort Hill.
They knew I knew people.
So they came to me.
>> I know where's the huddle used to be.
[OVERLAPPING].
>> That's right. Exactly. [OVERLAPPING]
And so David, he said, Stephen.
I said, David, I think we could do it.
We met, got on board,
and we worked hard that year.
Oh, boy. We went all over the place,
knocking doors, putting out signs, and he won.
He's been down at the State House ever since.
He's been there ever since. He never lost.
He's one of the few people that I've met and which I
would call a friend that him,
Penny, Olivia, David, his son,
we did like family.
>> Well, what year was that,
that the resolution from the?
>> 2014. I got the resolution and the award
from the NWACP the same year, in 2014.
>> They may want to take that award
back now that you're a Republican.
>> Well, the funny thing about it, and this is strange.
I talked to David about three or four months ago
and he's seen some of my other successes and he said,
Stephen, I said, just give
me a letter because I needed a letter for something.
He said, Stephen, I'll get you another proclamation.
>> That's how that came about?
>> That's how it came about.
>> Well, you mentioned one of your sons is in the Navy.
I think one works at Georgia Tech, doesn't he?
>> Yeah. The older one,
Stephen junior is 30.
He graduated from this school in fact, Kinsa University.
He's a alumnus here.
He works down at Georgia Tech in the IT management.
He does all their information technology there.
One of my son in the Navy graduated from Georgia Tech.
He went to the Navy and he works in the nuclear.
He's an infotechnician.
He does information, but he does the program with
the computers to shoot missiles.
How that happened, I can't tell you how it works.
But anyway, that's just what he does.
But Stephen works for Georgia Tech. That's his job.
And the younger son,
who's Javian, he's 26.
He works over at Lockheed Aeronautics
over there in their supply.
All the parts planes and gadgets and all that stuff.
He attended Clark University there.
They all good kids,
hard working, church values,
and so there you are.
>> Do you understand anything they're talking
about on their IT stuff?
>> Stephen and I, we connect with
IT because he's a musician.
He plays at Oregon, keyboard,
and so he shows me a little stuff how to
program stuff in your computer,
stuff that you can do, but I don't get
a lot of that because it's kind of like,
wow, they're really super smart in IT.
>> Well, you want to talk a little bit about
how Cobb County has changed over the years?
It sounds like you're becoming a Republican right when
the Republicans are losing control of
anything in Cobb County.
>> Cobb County, when I grew up,
to see it's diversity.
I think that's the most paramount thing for me.
>> It's amazing.
>> It's amazing to see
how many different nationalities and
how important their impact here,
whether it's technology, whether it's engineering,
it's just a bunch of
bright minded people that are
diverse that have come together
that they've shaped this county in
so many different ways in development,
real estate, commerce.
I think we would not be the county we are or the city
without the diversities and
authenticities that have come to put into this county.
I really mean that passionately because I knew
the old commissioners Bob Cox way back in the day.
I knew the old times,
Butch Thompson and those guys,
but Cobb has become a wonderful place to work,
to live because of
the different diversities of people in
teaching, even in ministry.
The Spanish community with their part
here they're playing with
building and growth and development.
It's phenomenal what we've
experienced I've seen in my life here.
>> I think we need a good sociological study
of the newcomers and why they've come to Cobb County.
>> I've been sitting in the square,
and people came,
I couldn't even understand what they're saying
so I know what nationality.
I'm like, where are you from?
I'm from England. I've met
people that said, I'm from Russia.
People from all over the world
come to Cobb County into this Marietta area.
>> We're about 15% foreign born in Cobb County.
>> Yeah. It's a lot of
people here from different countries.
>> Well, I'm about out of questions.
Hellen, did you have anything you wanted to ask?
>> No. I think [OVERLAPPING]
>> Anything that we haven't
covered that you'd like to talk about?
>> I'd just like to say, thank you
all of you for this wonderful opportunity to share.
I hope that this will enrich
the lives of people that will see this online,
go to the library and read this transcript.
I just trust and pray it will enrich
people as much as it has enriched my life.
>> Great. Well, thank you very much.
>> Thank you so much.