In Black America; Judge Glenda Hatchett; Part 1

From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. Here on Am, you know, one minute I am trying multi-million dollar corporate cases, and then the next minute I'm on a bench with families who are just in crisis, and one of the things the footnote for your audience today is that so many times you will think of juvenile court as children who are committing delinquent acts, they're doing things they shouldn't be doing, but also I had your institution over children who are battered and abused and neglected who where they are not because they did something that was wrong but because people abused them, and so, you know, the merit of problems, drug abuse, neglect of alcoholism, poverty, and under-education. The Honorable Glinda Hatchett, reality TV courtroom judge and author of Dare to Take Charge, How to Live Your Life on Purpose, published by Sinner Street.

For nine seasons, Hatchett's delighted TV audiences with a brand of justice that turn the everyday into something immensely watchable. Each week on a nationally syndicated program, she hands-down unique sentences that help litigants wear the choices in the balance of future consequences. In a book Dare to Take Charge, she recounts the assessed strategies that make her a successful attorney, first had dealt to airlines and then as Georgia's first, African-American teeth residing juz of a state court and a department head of one of the largest juvenile systems in the country. Hatchett shares with us the insight, philosophy behind her sometime offbeat, but always effective techniques, focusing east-chapter on a particular life skill or inspirational thought. I'm John L. Hanson Jr. and welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week's program, Dare to Take Charge with the Honorable Glinda Hatchett, In Black America.

Because I didn't want this to just be a read where people didn't get invested in the books. But I thought that the way to touch people's souls was for them to make it their own. People said, well, Judge, should I do these exercises in groups? And you may want to do them in groups. I think that the first cut through it, you should do them by yourself because I think you have to do some real soul searching and some answers that you don't think anybody is looking over your shoulder to kind of assess. That the only person who needs to assess these answers is you. After graduating from Emory University School of Law and completing a coveted clerkship in the U.S. Federal Courts, Glinda Hatchett accepted a position at Delta Airlines as the company's highest-ranking African-American woman. She served in dual roles as a senior attorney for Delta Airlines, litigating cases in federal courts throughout the country, and managerial public relations, supervising global crisis management, and major relation for all of Europe, Asia, and 50 U.S. cities. In fact, her outstanding contributions were recognized by Ebony Magazine, which named her one of the 100 best and brightest women in corporate America.

In 1991, she made the difficult decision to leave Delta Airlines in order to accept an appointment as Chief Residing Judge of Fulton County, Georgia, juvenile court. Well-known for a popular nationally syndicated program, Judge Hatchett has been praised for her creative sitencing and powerful administration of justice. In her new book, Dare to Take Child, Hatchett uses real-life stories from the courtroom and her personal life to counsel readers. She shows them how to find their true purpose and gifts to be real about their reality and its potential outside of challenging circumstances and to always be true to themselves. I went to law school, John, never, ever expecting that I would one day be a judge. In fact, I went to law school really to broaden my options, but ended up going into practicing law for a huge corporation, highest ranking, one of color, woman of color worldwide at Delta Airlines. And we're comfortable. Really, I just, you know, you know, I keep it real. I was very comfortable. And so, never in saw myself leaving that, I expected that would be my career.

And then a woman who I respected deeply, who was the juvenile court judge in Atlanta, died, and people asked me to apply. And my first reaction was, no, you know, this is not where I think my path is leading, and certainly I've never even been inside of a juvenile court and never aspired to be a judge. But after a lot of soul searching, the question was, was I willing to step out on faith and do something that I thought might make a difference in people's lives? And so, my thought was that if I could get my hands on a 15-year-old and get them back on track, that maybe we wouldn't see them in the criminal justice system when they're 15, 16, and 20, and 30, and 40. And it really was, honestly, where I was to be. And I couldn't see that for myself. I could not see that. If you had said to me, you know, you will end up being a judge. I would say, John, we don't get you some help. You know, I just couldn't even begin to imagine that for myself. But it was where I was supposed to be, and it is where truly I can tell you that my purpose and my passion intersected.

And I believe that this is what I was supposed to be doing. What was it about Delta Airlines that attracted you in the first place? I will tell you that I, again, went to law school not expecting to practice law. You know, my ideal job, I thought, would have been to work in a foundation where I could give millions of dollars to the causes that I believed in. And then I fell in love with litigation. And so there was a wonderful opportunity to litigate by going to Delta. And frankly, at that time, I was married to very outstanding lawyer who was in private practice and thought maybe we should not be in the same genre. Perhaps it made sense for me to be in the corporate side while he was in the private side. And I think that that probably was a good move, you know, given our marriage at that time.

So Delta was his headquarters worldwide headquarters in Atlanta. And it just made sense. And it ended up being an amazing opportunity for me. You talk about in the book there to take charge about that first day. Well, let me back this up. I was talking to your your your assistant prior to doing this interview. And I answered a question. I'm going to also place that question to you. How did we we mean you and I basically born in the same generation. Our parents and our grandparents navigated through this thing we call life without the assistance of what you've written in your book. How do we figure it out? I will tell you that I just shared recently with a group of students in convocation that we are not here by our own divine design.

That we are here by an ultimate design. And that we're here, I believe, by God's grace and mercy, however you define God in your life. Because I think that's deeply personal and I don't want to be presumptuous to define it for other people. But I do think that there is a they force out there larger than myself. I just speak for me. And that I am very clear, John, I do not get it twisted. That I am here at this place at this point in the history of the universe by divine design. And that I stand on the shoulders of mighty generations. And I mean that with every fiber of my being, that my parents and my grandparents and their parents before them and all of our ancestors sacrificed so mightily for us to be where we are. And when we get disconnected from that, and when we start thinking that somehow we are here because we are amazing people, and we get all twisted, we get these disconnects.

And that's why I think it's so fundamentally important that we understand our purpose. And that's why I write about in this new book about our purpose and that we live it with passion because we are a part of a lineage that reaches so far back and that we want to reach so far in the future. But we got to hold down our part of it. We got to hold it down and make sure that we are contributing to that long line of succession in magnificent ways. And I am very passionate about that. And speaking of passion and chapter five, fine purpose and passion, and all that you do, and you talk about that first day on the bench and the first child on your docket that day. And I guess your mother instincts kicked in before your judicial instincts did.

Absolutely. Absolutely because you know, think about it. Here I am, you know, one minute I am trying multi-million dollar corporate cases, and then the next minute I am on a bench with families who are just in crisis. And one of the things that put note for your audience today is that so many times people think of juvenile court as children who are committing delinquent acts, they are doing things they shouldn't be doing. But also I had your institution over children who were battered and abused and neglected who were there not because they did something that was wrong but because people abused them. And so, you know, the narrative problems of drug abuse and neglect and alcoholism and poverty and under education all just kind of all come together in some very dynamic and very, very sobering ways in juvenile court. So having said that, that particular morning that I write about and I still, I mean it still gets me when I tell that story that we, I was there and there was nothing in my legal training honestly that could have prepared me for that moment.

You know, there's just, there's no way that you can be taught how to respond at that moment. I mean, that's when you just have to, you know, you have to reach into your soul. And so, as I say in that chapter, I instinctively just stood up and started taking off my robe to come down to where he was and I did the only thing I was absolutely clear about. I took that child in my arms and I helped him because as you know from from having read that chapter, that book that he had been abandoned, at a shelter by his mother who was, you know, addicted to crack and left and she said I'll be back and she never came back to get him. So, you know, it was at that juncture on my knees, you know, with that child on that floor, that courtroom, that morning that I know that my purpose and passion intersected and people say,

with Linda, how do you, you know, how do you find your purpose? I'm like, honey, let me tell you, my purpose is found me. You know, I keep it real. You know, I like to say, oh, you know, I knew when I was five years old, I wanted to be a judge. That's not how my life happened. But it was thank goodness. It did happen for me and which, which I'm very grateful. If you're just joining us, you're listening in Black America from KUT Radio and we're speaking with the Honorable, Blinda A Hatchett, Syndicated Reality TV courtroom judge and author of the book, Dare to Take Charge. Judge Hatchett, you also talk about and you spoke with a young lady of also interview, Carla Harris and the chapter, I'm trying to find out victims or victorious in chapter four. And explain that to our audience of how one goes beyond what society say we should become versus what we will become in our own time.

Right. Carla Harris is an amazing woman. Yes, she is. Oh, I just have such a speck. I really count knowing her really, John, as a blessing in my life. For some who may not know who she is, she is one of the highest ranking women of color on Wall Street. But far more than that, a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant business woman is that she has an incredible heart for, she's a philanthropist, she's a gifted singer. She does charity, charity concerts on, on a carnage hall to raise money for things that she believes in. But very importantly, she knows and understands and really pours into people and encourages people. So having said that about color is why absolutely so respect. We were in a situation where we were conducting an empowerment panel for some women.

And the woman was just going on and on and on and on and caring on and a few other words that I could say that I won't see on the radio, but she was just going on and on and on. And so complaining about how she could not make it in corporate America, because she was African-American, because she was a woman, because she was a lesbian, because she had not gone to a top school for MBA, she hadn't gone to an Ivy League school, she was from a dysfunctional family, you know, abusive, I mean it was just a, and not to be, to minimize her problems by any means. That's not the point of me telling you this. But what I love that day is a color Harris stopped her. And she looked her in the eye and she said, either you're going to be a victim or you're going to be victorious. Well, I'm telling it in my mind, those are shouting words, because it really, I mean it was what that young woman needed to hear, to bring her back to a place of not just seeing herself as a victim, but what are you going to do to try to be victorious?

And that was the real point of telling that story in that chapter, because we do have to choose. All of us, I don't care who you are, where you came from, what your background is, where you're living, what you have, we have all had challenges. If anybody tells you they haven't had challenges, they are a liar. And that the question is, do we continue to stay in a place where we are feeling defeated and where we define ourselves as victims, or do we really try to move to higher ground to say that we're going to be victorious? And so we had to shift our thinking, that young woman's thinking that day, to start thinking, come on, let's talk about your assets. Let's talk about what you see as being who you are.

You're living authentically. Yes, you have come out of the closet. You have said that you're a lesbian. Yes, you are a woman of color. You are living your life authentically. You've got to claim that. Whoever you are, you've got to claim it, and see the positive things in your life. If you're unhappy in your job, maybe you go back to school, maybe if you can, you get a lateral transfer, maybe you have to take a couple of steps back in order to take several steps forward. But we know if you stay in a place called stock, and you're just there, that your life is going to continue to be what it is now. And so I thank Carla for that important life lesson that she shared with that young woman that day, and I just thank her for the marvelous human being that she is. I know that's right. Judge Hatchett, you're on a roll. You worked in Corporate America at Delta, became the Chief Providing Judge in the juvenile court system, the department head, and then TV comes calling.

Yes. How did, obviously, we know how you responded because of the television show, but what were you thinking? Okay, I got a call from Holly Woods, Sony Pictures, and they want me to do what I do now on television. Well, it's very interesting because people think that I left my job to go and do that. That's not what happened. I had actually taken a year off to regroup and decided that I needed to get back in the private sector to be able to afford to send my children to college. Again, you always keep it real. So that's what I was doing. And I did get the call from Sony, and I was like, no, no, no. Because, honestly, John, I didn't want to do what I saw on television. You know, that was not me. It's like taking this very seriously. I'm a real judge. You know, I've been a real judge. I've worked really hard. Did you try to do right? Did you try to help people? I don't want to do this stuff.

And so, you know, after talking to them, they said, we're going to listen at least sit down and talk, and we did. Very positive meeting. And they said, what would it take to get you to shoot this pilot for us? And I said, I'd have to develop it. And I have to develop this show consistent with who I am and what I believe. And, you know, it can't be scripted. It has to be genuine. We have to get resources for people if they need help. They need to go into drug treatment or alcohol treatment or psychological treatment. You know, whatever it is, we have to be able to do that and not just have people here and explore their service of stories without providing them services and support. So, that's how it happened. And again, if you had sent to me, you would be on television, as Judge Hatchett with millions of viewers seeing you, I would have said, look, you know, you really are crazy. But you never know what turns your life will take. And what I have learned to appreciate, and because you've been in the business for so long, is that media is a very powerful tool. And you use it all the time for good messages and powerful, powerful impact in our lives, which I'm very grateful to you, John.

And I want to always be responsible. But, you know, if I had this platform, and instead of just the people in my courtroom, millions of people around the world see it, then I want to do it in a way that is responsible, that I am accountable to my heritage at the end of the day. My father, my grandfather's name is on that show. And I want to be able to do it in a way that people will always say, I respect your work. Not to go in there and make a fool of people, not to make fun of them, not to exploit them, but really in a way that I hope will always be uplifting. Obviously, you touch a thread from a personal standpoint. You touch threads with me throughout the program, because I could see that you wanted to, oftentimes, come down from that bench when you have these young people who are children of these parents who have literally sacrificed to know in for their child to have what they have, to be where they are right then, and absolutely no responsibility, no respect.

And absolutely no accountability that they should have, and it's almost like, well, I'm here and you owe me all this, and I can just do what I want to do when I want to do it. I know. And I say, oh, Lord, let us get ready to go off. Get ready to go off. You know, if you know what's going to happen, you know, right, let us get ready to go off right here right now on them. I have this little girl looking at me one day, and I said, you know, you better be glad I am not your mama. I said, because I wouldn't put out with this mess. And she said, well, you not my mama, well, you know, I get up. And so I had to stop, because I was like, coming down, oh, goodness, you know, I'm going to say, that's why you're in the situation you're in now. And I looked at her mama, and I said, and you have put out with this for too long. How dare you let her talk to you like this?

How dare, well, you know, I can't do anything with her. Wait a minute. When I was in court in Atlanta, let me came into my courtroom one day. And she, 15 year old son, totally out of control, acting the fool. And she got up and got her person start walking out the courtroom. Excuse me. She said, Judge, I can't do anything with him, honey. He's yours. You do something with him. I said, if you don't come back here and sit. Well, anyway, you don't come back here and sit down. I said, the problem is that you cannot wait until he's 15 to set the parameters. Exactly. You didn't say no when he was five. You thought his cousin back at you was cute when he was seven. You like when he was talking back and doing what he wanted to do at 10, you said nothing. It's well you did nothing. And now that he is in my courtroom, you're going to tell me that you have nothing else to do with him. That is not the way this works, parenting is a full time responsibility.

But, you know, we have got to be real clear too, that we have to be our children's parents instead of trying to be their friends. Now, that's not to say it has to be every zero. I'm very close to my sons. But I'm in charge. I am the parent. And just like your parents said that to you, you know, my parents said only two grown folk in the South. Exactly. You know, so we have to be really clear that we do what we need to do because this is all we have of which will be a new generation of men and women. And we got to be very serious about our relationships with our children. You know, talk about dare to take charge. That's what we got to do. We got to dare to take charge of important relationships in our lives. If you're just joining us, you're listening to In Black America from KUT radio and we're speaking with the honorable Linda A. Hatchett, syndicated reality TV courtroom judge and author of dare to take charge. Judge Hatchett, obviously this particular segment of one of your programs touched you dearly. And I assume you were trying to make a point with one of the litigants, a young man,

to get him to understand his heritage, his African heritage. So I assume that you all did background research for him, but also background research for you. And obviously it's on YouTube if the listeners want to go check it out. But obviously that was an emotional moment for yourself. You know, it absolutely was. My two sons and I had traveled in East Africa the summer before. And a man in Tanzania came up to me and said, my sister, where are you from? And you know, not evenly, John, I just instinctively said, I'm from the States. And he said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, my sister, where are you really from? And I'll tell you, John, I was so moved to tears. I mean, literally I just stood there and I said, I don't know. You know, I don't know.

And he said, you have been taken from us. And I welcome you home, my sister. And I promised myself, when I got back home, when I got back to Atlanta, that I was going to make it a priority to trace through the DNA. And so I was telling my executive producer, I'm very close to on the show about this. And he said, and I said, you know, if I bleed that so many of my kids who come through my courtroom, who are particularly African American males, that they understood how rich their history is and their heritage and where they came from, they came from such magnificent people, that they wouldn't be so inclined to throw away their future if they understood how rich their past is. So that was the impetus. And he said, Judge, please do not, because you know, I was like, just like I'm doing this today, I'm doing this today. No, please do it. But don't let's do it in conjunction if there is a child who comes through the court system this season. So it happened that there is this child who came through and we did it. And so I tried my best. I mean, I bribed, I tried to, you know, twist people's arms and no one would tell me the results because, you know, they had them, but I didn't know.

And so what you saw on the YouTube and then looking back on that show, I mean, I was just like so moved to know that that my roots are in what is male. Of course, of course, that's all a different political lines and modern Africa than it was, you know, times my ancestors. The honorable Glenda Hatchett hopes that her own TV courtroom reality show an author of dare to take charge. If you have questions, comments or suggestions asked your future in black America programs. Email us at jhanset at kut.org. Also, let us know what radio station you heard is over the views and opinions expressed on this program are not necessarily those of this station or of the University of Texas at Austin. You can hear previous programs online at kut.org until we have the opportunity again for technical producer David Alvarez. I'm John L. Hanson Jr. Thank you for joining us today. Please join us again next week.

CD copies of this program are available and may be purchased by writing in black America CDs kut radio one university station Austin, Texas 78712. That's in black America CDs kut radio one university station Austin, Texas 78712. This has been a production of kut radio.