Black MBA - Winter 2007/2008 - (Page 51) By day, Hatchett dispenses justice and wisdom from the bench in the manner of other jurists who have popularized the reality TV courtroom genre on other shows, such as The People’s Court and Judge Judy. By night, the Atlanta native sheds her robe and goes home (still in Atlanta) to her life as a single mother to two sons, Charles and Chris, as well as a tireless advocate for child welfare issues. She also is the author of the bestseller Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say!: 7 Simple Strategies to Help Our Children Along the Path to Purpose and Possibility (William Morrow, 2003). The book focuses on child rearing from the combined perspective of a judge and a parent, addressing issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, date rape and school violence. PRE-DOCKET DAYS After Glenda Hatchett graduated from Emory University School of Law, she completed a clerkship with the U.S. Federal Courts. Her career then took her to corporate America, where she worked at Delta Air Lines for 10 years in the legal and public relations departments. Even though Hatchett’s career at Delta was soaring – she was the company’s highest-ranking African American female employee – she made the decision to accept an appointment as chief presiding judge of the Juvenile Court of Fulton County, Ga. “If anyone had told me that I’d be a judge someday, I’d have said they were crazy!” Hatchett says. “However, certain people I respect in the community asked me to consider the judgeship.” The move proved to be a historic one. Judge Hatchett became Georgia’s first African American chief presiding judge of a state court and the department head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country. Her reason for accepting the appointment was simple: she wanted to make a difference in the lives of wayward children. She pursues the same goal in her television courtroom, although being in show business was not part of her plan. “Not in a million years,” Hatchett told CBS News. “And you know, I still don’t think of myself as being an actress. I just get in there and I get behind the bench and I pretend it’s my courtroom. I deal with it that way as opposed to trying to be an actress because I would just be [nervous]. It’s a very different kind of [mind]set.” AN ADVOCATE FOR YOUTH While Hatchett juggles many roles – judge, mother, reality TV show host, author – it is her work with at-risk youngsters that she is really passionate about. Earlier this year, Hatchett joined Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. during the State of the Black Union gathering, where she told a troubling story of a 16-year-old who had been running a prostitution and drug ring in Atlanta. True to form, she tried to stage an intervention for the young man. To emphasize the damage that he was causing in the Black community, Judge Hatchett had strong words for the young man and others like him. “I tell children who are shooting other people in my courtroom, ‘How dare you? How dare you let a drop of precious blood flow in the streets of our communities? It is the same blood that runs through your veins, has run through the veins of kings and queens… runs through the veins of Martin [Luther King], Nelson Mandela and Mary McLeod Bethune. You need to understand that we come from a rich heritage. Anytime we abuse any one of us, we lose a part of us.” Not even Hatchett herself can say much to follow that. mba Shirley Henderson is a Chicago-based writer and editor. “If anyone had told me that I’d be a judge someday, I’d have said they were crazy! However, certain people I respect in the community asked me to consider the judgeship.” BlackMBA • Winter 2007/2008 51
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