COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County Board of Education member used a familiar form of protest to call attention to the deaths of inmates at Cobb County Detention Center.
Oct. 15 was the first time Cobb County School Board members met in person since March. And it was the first time Dr. Jaha Howard stepped around the desks taking a knee during the pledge.
“I still recited those words, I mean those words, but when I say the end, 'liberty and justice for all,' that also means folks that tend to get forgotten about," Howard told 11Alive.
One of the people he doesn’t want to be forgotten is Kevil Wingo, a 36-year-old man who died in custody at the detention center in September 2019.
11Alive’s Reveal Investigators found Wingo complained of a stomach ulcer and begged to be sent to the hospital. Jail staff admitted they heard him complain he couldn’t breathe.
Howard followed the case since last year.
“It’s tragic and it’s so many unanswered questions and it just speaks to so much when it comes to systemic racism," Howard said.
Since Dr. Howard kneeled, he’s received support from the community he serves and some negative responses from others.
“Chatter, emails sent out about what they feel about the event,” he said.
Howard showed 11Alive's Hope Ford an email sent by another board member to members of the community.
"Kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance by Dr. Howard during a school board meeting was a disgraceful act," the email said. "Show how much he hates the USA."
11Alive has not confirmed the email was indeed sent by the board member. However, Howard said none of the board members, except for Charisse Davis, talked to him personally about kneeling. He said the lack of response to him directly from other board members was "expected."
He added he did receive minor backlash from others in the community as well.
“People who want me to quote-unquote stay in my line," he said.
"Stay in your lane as a school board member?" Ford asked.
"It could be a little bit of both, as a school board member but maybe the subtly as a Black male.”
Howard said his act was the opposite of hate.
“It was an act of love for the country, when I say liberty and justice for all, just like you say liberty and justice for all, wouldn’t we want to mean it?” he said. “When we see injustice, we should do something about it.”
Dr. Howard said he doesn’t know if he’ll kneel again; it was just in his heart to do it that day. He does know he will continue to use his platform to call out any injustice in his community, the education, and justice systems.
After 11Alive’s investigation into Wingo’s death, the Cobb County sheriff’s office stopped providing jail records to our investigators.
11Alive filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Neil Warren in September, claiming the sheriff violate the Georgia Open Records Act.
A judge has ordered the Sheriff's Office to release records related to two people who have died at its detention center over the past few years, which 11Alive just received.
Reveal investigators are working on additional stories on other inmates who died at the jail in 2019.