When someone says, “Judge Mathis,” there is a good chance that they are referring to the person who stars on the show rather than the show itself. In short, Greg Mathis is a retired judge turned arbiter, whose show has lasted so long that he has turned into a pop culture icon in his own right. Recently, some people might have seen Mathis’s name in the entertainment news because there is a claim that he spat on a valet, though it remains to be seen what will come of the whole thing. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Greg Mathis:
1. Seventh-Day Adventist
Mathis was raised by his mother, who was a devout member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. As a result, he is a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church as well. For the most part, said church is similar to other Protestant Christian denominations when it comes to its teachings, but there are a couple of things that stand out about it. One, it believes that the Sabbath starts on Friday evening and continues until Saturday evening, thus explaining its name. Two, it believes that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is imminent, though doesn’t mean that it is interested in setting exact dates.
2. Grew Up in Detroit, MI
As stated earlier, Mathis was raised by his mother on her own in the Detroit of the 1960s and 1970s. Those were not good times for the city, as shown by how it had boasted a third of the state’s population at its height in the 1950s before falling to less than a tenth of the state’s population by the 2010s. In particular, it is worth noting that Detroit was hammered by the gas crises of the 1970s, which caused serious damage to its struggling auto industry because consumers preferred smaller, more fuel efficient cars from foreign auto companies.
3. His Father Was Associated with the Errol Flynns
Mathis was estranged from his father. However, he still winded up joining a street gang called the Errol Flynns that his father was associated with. For those who are curious, the Errol Flynns were indeed named for the Hollywood star of so many swashbuckling movies, presumably because they put such an enormous emphasis on their appearance as well as their sense of style. Something that made them very appealing to a lot of impoverished youth in the Detroit of the late 1960s and 1980s. The Errol Flynns no longer exist in the present time, having collapsed in the 1980s thanks to the successful prosecution of some of their gang leaders combined with the overtaking of the heroin trade by the crack cocaine trade.
4. Got Early Probation
When Mathis was still a teenager, he was arrested on numerous occasions. As a result, he was in Wayne County Jail as a juvenile when his mother visited him with the bad news that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Due to the diagnosis, Mathis was allowed out of jail on early probation, with the result that he went to work at McDonald’s so that he could maintain said status.
5. Became Interested in Politics in University
Fortunately for Mathis, he had a close family friend who was able to give him a helping hand, thus enabling him to get into Eastern Michigan University. There, Mathis developed a keen interest in politics as well as the related field of public administration, as shown by how he started working for the Democratic Party. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that Mathis helped organize a number of demonstrations against South Africa, which was still maintaining the Apartheid system in those times.
6. Had Some Issues Getting His License to Practice Law
For a time, Mathis struggled to get his license to practice law. However, he was successful in the end. Due to this, Mathis went on to be elected as a district court judge in 1995, which was particularly notable because he was still very young by the standards of most judges at that point in time.
7. Likes to Help Out Prisoners
On the whole, it is safe to say that Mathis is someone who hasn’t forgotten where he came from. One excellent example of this can be seen in how he continues to make a serious effort to help out people who are in prison, which is particularly important because prison recidivism rates are very high in the United States. In fact, the statistics say that something like two-thirds of ex-prisoners will return to prison within just three years’ time, which definitely suggests that something isn’t working right with the country’s prison system.
8. Paying It Forward
In a very real sense, Mathis is paying it forward through his efforts. After all, he himself was inspired to improve his life by a jail visit conducted by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, meaning that he is essentially doing for other people what Jackson did for him decades and decades ago. Besides Mathis’s efforts for prisoners, he has worked with Jackson on various matters for some time. For example, he once oversaw Jackson’s presidential campaign in the state of Michigan. Likewise, he is the chairman of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
9. Doesn’t Lend Money to Friends and Family Members
It is interesting to note that Mathis doesn’t lend money to his friends and family members. This doesn’t mean that he won’t help out when they come asking, just that he will give them the money rather than lend them the money. However, this doesn’t mean that seeking this kind of financial assistance from Mathis will come free of charge, seeing as how he will lecture them on it. That might sound harsh, but considering the kind of cases that he has been handling year after year, his opinion on such matter is wholly unsurprising.
10. He Sees His Show As Being In Line With His Other Activities
Speaking of which, Mathis sees his show in a very similar light to his other activities. Essentially, he believes that he can use his show to give the people who participate some guidance with their lives while also inspiring others to turn their lives around. As for how long Mathis intends to continue with the show, the answer is that he will continue doing it as long as people continue watching it. After which, he might consider doing something else with his spare time, with the pursuit of public office being a stated example.
