Meanwhile, a stream of Carlthorp parents and administrators, including Dee Menzies, have started frequenting P.F. Chang’s, where Griffin works part time as a hostess. "It’s like they are trying to intimidate me or I am some kind of zoo animal for them to gawk at," she says.
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Hadshe graduated from Spelman College, Ericka Griffin would have been in the class of 1994. Her mother would have been in the class of 1974. But to the disappointment of Norma Payton Reid, neither ever came close. Joette Marks says that her mother still drags her and Griffin to Spelman alumnae functions, where she publicly calls attention to how her daughter and granddaughter have failed her. "My mother is this conservative woman from the South who makes it very clear when she is displeased," Marks says. "She’ll put her hand on her hip, with the head movement and all that, and say, ‘You folk don’t know a thing.’ " Norma Payton Reid did not return calls for comment on this story.
Given the pain of watching her daughter struggle with Carlthorp — in court and within herself — Marks is ready to see an end to the most recent chapter in her daughter’s life. She figures Griffin is finally doing what she always wanted her to do: earning her college degree and working part time to pay her way and getting good grades while she’s at it. "I’m realizing that Ericka is a lot stronger and smarter than I thought," Marks says.
Yet she is not left without a bitter taste. She describes a recent visit to Fletcher’s office to retrieve her daughter’s files. "He says Ericka is paranoid," Marks says. "His parting words were, ‘Your daughter needs counseling.’ It’s unfortunate he doesn’t see the connection between the need for counseling and the abuse she suffered at Carlthorp, not to mention attorneys who’ve done such a shoddy job of representing her." She continues, "To me, it’s a no-brainer. I know in my gut this is a classic case of backstabbing and class and racial bias. Ericka has been associating with people who have limited contact with middle-class black people. They think black families are more dysfunctional than others. It irritates me when black people who act like other middle-class people in this country are treated like some kind of miracle or freak accident."
For all the righteousness she has learned from her mother, and the family pride she attributes to her grandmother, Griffin may have realized it’s time to be her own woman. She’s hoping for a career in film. "I tried Spelman, I tried being a paralegal, and I tried Carlthorp," she says.
