UPW Urban Pro Weekly

UPW URBAN PRO WEEKLY

AUGUST 20 - 26, 2015 VOL. 4 NO. 47

Julian Bond

From nonviolent direct action to the politics of inclusion SPLOST 7

The unkindest cut of all

Commissioners ax consideration of arts groups Eddie Bussey 706-772-9800

UrbanProWeekly - AUGUST 20 -26, 2015

THE CITY

COMMENTARY

No more Mr. Nice Guy! Nonprofit organizations frozen out of SPLOST funding for at least five years. By Frederick Benjamin UrbanProWeekly Political Analyst AUGUSTA Almost to a person, the 10 commissioners who attended Tuesday’s commission meeting, spoke in glowing terms of Augusta’s nonprofit organizations and thanked them for their service, but then six of them voted to put them in a deep freeze through the year 2021, the next time when they will likely be eligible to receive funding from the county’s special local option sales tax (SPLOST). Tuesday’s 6-4 vote to remove the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from the current SPLOST-7 package capped a marathon session last Thursday (Aug. 13, 2015) where commissioners emerged, still undecided, about which items and organizations would make the final cut. The NGOs however still had hope. That hope grew when there appeared to be a serious discussion about how much they should be allotted — whether $7.5 million or $10 million. Despite some solid opposition to including the nonprofits in the tax package, the NGOs had their champion. Commissioner Marion Williams was their chief booster, but the big question remained. Would he be able to get at least four others to side with him and, possibly, get the mayor to break a 5-5 tie — five commissioners in favor of including the NGOs and five against?

UPW

That didn’t happen. At Tuesday’s critical meeting, there was little give and take. City administrator Janice Allen Jackson distributed two sets of plans to each of the commissioners. One set included the NGOs and the other set excluded them. After each commissioner made brief statements about where they stood, it was clear that the nonprofits were not going to win the day — not even close. Commissioners Grady Smith, Mary Davis, Ben Hasan, Sean Frantom, Sammy Sias and Wayne Guilfoyle voiced their support for the plan which excluded the NGOs while Bill Fennoy, Dennis Williams, Marion Williams and Bill Lockett voted to keep them in. It was short and sweet. Some folks were surprised, given the detailed discussions about how much to give to each of the nonprofits. Those discussions included the Imperial Theatre, the Augusta Mini Theatre, the Augusta Symphony (which seeks to complete renovation of the Miller Theatre), the YMCA and the Shiloh Community Center. The surprise was unwarranted. Early on, the commissioners signaled that they needed to keep the SPLOST package unencumbered with non-infrastructure-type projects. Inclusion of the nonprofits was always seen as an uphill struggle, but as the hope for including the NGOs was kept alive, perceptions began to change and it was thought

that they might have a chance. The key opposition to the NGOs was based on the fact that the last SPLOST package that included them failed. Whether or not that failure was based on the inclusion of the NGOs is a matter of conjecture. As was pointed out by Mr. Fennoy, it only narrowly missed passing. But the issue was too important to leave to chance. As Commissioner Guilfoyle stated, the NGOs could do without SPLOST for five years, but the city could not. That sentiment won the day. The final SPLOST package included $215.5 million in projects. A whopping $35 million of that was included to pay for the municipal building renovation. Now comes the hard part. At least one commissioner (M. Williams) said that he would actively campaign against the SPLOST. Williams had asserted all along that those NGOs would be needed to go out and support the SPLOST. Some commissioners countered with the suggestion that they did not go out and support it the last time. So who is to say? One thing is clear, NGOs or not, there is a significant anti-SPLOST sentiment that was not mollified by Tuesday’s vote. They will organize against the SPLOST simply because they objected to last fall’s property tax increase and this year’s proposed stormwater fee which is set to kick-in in January, 2016.

URBAN PRO WEEKLY

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Executive Publisher / Sales BEN HASAN 706-831-7828 bzhasan54@yahoo.com

Executive Managing Editor FREDERICK BENJAMIN SR. 706-306-4647 editor@urbanproweekly.com

Nonprofit organizations, including the Family Y, Paine College and the Augusta Symphony have been removed from the penny-sales tax package.

Contributors VINCENT HOBBS Photography & New Media KEN MAKIN KRISTIE GREGORY contributing columnists

“There is no burden that wears on an individual like discrimination. And for millions of Americans, that burden limits their potential and stifles their possibilities. We can do far better. And there’s no better time than the present.” — Julian Bond

ulian Bond, a lifelong civil rights leader and former board chairman of the NA ACP, has died. He was 75. Bond died Saturday (August 15) night after a brief illness in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which he served as founding president in the 1970s. “Not only has the country lost a hero today, we’ve lost a great friend,” the legal advocacy group said in a statement. The Tennessee native was on the forefront of the 1960s civil rights movement and was among activists who demanded equal rights for African-Americans. President Barack Obama highlighted what he called Bond’s lifetime mission of justice and equality. “Julian Bond was a hero and, I’m privileged to say, a friend,” Obama said in a statement. Obama added: “Julian Bond helped change this country for the better. And what better way to be remembered than that.” Former President Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also offered their condolences. “Julian lived his life at the center of the fight for civil rights, equality, and justice,” the Clintons said. “Julian helped us to become a more perfect union and always pushed us to do better. We will miss him.” Bond was part of a small group of students taught by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at Morehouse

College in 1962. “(King) was certainly known, but he was not nearly as famous then as he became, and he certainly didn’t act like a famous person,” Bond told CNN in 2013. “That was my feeling in being in that class and listening to him. He was important. He definitely seemed like an important person, and he was important in my life. I knew even at the time that I was privileged to learn from him, but he never made us feel as if he was that important. That’s not what it was about.” It was around that time that Bond helped lead one of the first student sit-ins in Atlanta. “With Julian’s passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice,” said Morris Dees, co-founder of the SPLC. Champion of equal rights Bond campaigned for equal rights for minorities beyond the United States. In 1985, police arrested him outside the South African Embassy in Washington, where he was protesting against apartheid, the legalized racial segregation enforced by South Africa at the time. “He advocated not just for African-Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination because he recognized the common humanity in us all,” Dees said. Bond was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1965, but his white colleagues in the House refused to let him take

his seat because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. A year later, the Supreme Court accused the Legislature of violating his freedom of speech and ordered it to seat him. Lawmaker, educator In addition to the Georgia House, he served in the state Senate for years. The former lawmaker also taught at various universities, including Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, and was chairman of the NA ACP for a decade. He even hosted “Saturday Night Live.” And his advocacy for equal rights went beyond just issues of race. In a 2013 interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Bond said that those who supported the civil rights movement should support the movement for gay rights. “I understand particularly if you’re black and you like to think of the civil rights (movement) as something black people do,” Bond said. “But this is not something we own. It’s something we ought to share with others and say ‘Try this, we did this and it worked, try this, don’t do this, it didn’t work that well.’ Other things we ought to say to people, ‘Do what we did, we will help you if we can, and remember, we are among you.’” “The NA ACP mourns the passing of chairman Julian Bond, civil rights titan and our brother,” the civil rights group said in a tweet. «May he rest in eternal peace.” Bond is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, and five children.

“A final SNCC legacy is the destruction of the psychological shackles which had kept black southerners in physical and mental peonage; SNCC helped break those chains forever,” he said. “It demonstrated that ordinary women and men, young and old, could perform extraordinary tasks.” — Julian Bond

Julian Bond (shown here in the 1960s) epitomized the radicalized youth that propelled the civil rights movement. One thing—among many—that is so striking about Julian Bond’s biography was how young he was when he accomplished so much of what he is known for. He was: 20 when he helped found The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); 25 when he was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives; 28 when he led the alternate delegation of Georgians to the notorious 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago (where he was also nominated to serve as vice president, though he was seven years too young); 31 when he served as SPLC’s first president (and he went back to Morehouse to graduate this same year). His leadership demonstrated that the value of decades of on-theground exertion and resistance is immeasurable.

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A Glenn Hills volleyball player hits the ball during a game against A.R. Johnson at the Glenn Hills gym. The Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Spartans 2-0 in the final score. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Volleyball is back! A.R. Johnson 2 â&#x20AC;˘ Glenn Hills 0 Evans 3 â&#x20AC;˘ Westside 0 Evans and Westside volleyball players greet each other at the end of their game at the Westside gym. The Lady Knights defeated the Lady Patriots 3-0 in the final score. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

New dorms for GRU students Wooden framing begins to rise from the concrete foundation at the location of GRUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new on-campus student housing complex, located behind the GRU Wellness Center. When completed in fall 2016, the residences will house more than 700 undergraduate and graduate students at the school. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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CITY LENS

UrbanProWeekly - AUGUST 20 -26, 2015

MAKIN’ A DIFFERENCE COMMENTARY by Ken Makin

Despite the “bus fuss”

RCSS gets it mostly right W

e interrupt the incessant complaints about transportation within the Richmond County School System (RCSS) to give you this important news bulletin: BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE ARE BIGGER CONCERNS THAN TR ANSPORTATION! I am tired of hearing about what RCSS hasn’t done. So, in the spirit of fairness, I’m going to tell you what they have done: • Richmond County has chosen the IE2 flexibility option IE2 stands for “Investing in Education Excellence.” Back in March, the school system voted to

give local schools more autonomy from state education regulations, BUT with increased academic accountability. School board members made this decision in spite of the fact that parent participation and accountability is the pits. I actually find it amazing that RCSS, under the leadership of Dr. Angela Pringle, made the decision to put her, school board administration and teachers’ necks on the line based on the success of students and parental involvement. Why? Because when the school system held a series of community meetings in January and February to determine which flexibility options would be used, very few people

came to the meetings! And these are the same people that RCSS will need to make sure this model is successful. There is a lot at stake, now and in the future. • Richmond County balanced its budget Why is this important? Very simple – because it allowed the school system to issue a 3 percent raise for ALL school employees. Why is that important? Because it raises the morale of everyone involved in the school system. The higher the morale, the more effort that people will put forth. And that means your children will be better educated and more prepared for life.

• Richmond County provided transportation for alternative-school students I think this is the most important change in the school system this year. I talk a lot about socioeconomics, and with that, I understand the cruel efficiency of the schoolto-prison pipeline. There are situations wherein students get in trouble, and in some cases, instead of rehabilitating students, school administrations will basically throw kids to the wolves. When RCSS failed to bus alternative-school kids, that’s exactly what happened. The attendance of at-risk Continued on next page

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RCSS from page 8 ty in Dr. Angela Pringle. I don’t fault her or the school system’s ambition – not even with transportation. Over the summer, they came up with a model to improve transportation. It takes time for these things to work, and the system OVER ALL has been a success. Let’s support the school system – AND be accountable in education. There are some people who will fuss more about buses than their child’s grades or behavior in class. Don’t be one

of those individuals – be a part of a RCSS movement that is only trending upward. Ken J. Makin is the host of “Makin’ A Difference,” an online radio program at soundcloud.com/makinadifference. Updates on the show are available at facebook.com/makinadifferenceshow. You can also reach Ken by email at makinadifferenceshow@gmail.com, or via Twitter @differencemakin.

Library seeks new director in wake of Price firing by Frederick Benjamin Sr. UPW Staff Writer

t s AUGUSTA - While many in the public dmay not have seen it coming, -those who have been pay-ing attention to the goings non at the Augusta-Richmond dCounty Public Library were lnot surprised to learn that wDarlene Price, the organiza-

tions’s director, was let go -after this week’s board meetting. k According to a source

close to the library board of trustees, many board members have been unhappy with Price’s performance for quite some time. Most of the unhappiness was not related to Price’s skill-set as regards library business, but rather, her inability to communicate effectively with board members. Citing her apparent “disrespect” for certain members of the board, including her refusal to return calls and keep board members abreast of what she was doing, the source told UPW that it was just a matter of time before the entire

Darlene Price board had gotten fed up. Among the complaints voiced by board members was her unilateral decision to drastically cut library hours and her poor handling of situations where patrons were locked in the library past closing hours. Of the library’s remaining employess, the number of which had dwindled from about 70 to about 50, Price was the only one who served at the pleasure of the board. The other employees are city workers paid by the county.

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Augusta NA ACP to host Journey for Justice event – will mobilize activists and advance a focused national advocacy agenda.The marchers will be in Augusta, Georgia, August 20 - 24, 2015. Paine College will serve as the Anchor location for all activities. The march will feature: rallies and teach-ins along the route, satellite events across the country, and a #JusticeSummer social media campaign. For more information on how to join the march, go to www.naacp.org, click on America’s Journey for Justice and RSVP to Join the Journey.

Runs Missionary Baptist Church Women’s Conference Runs Missionary Baptist Church, 717 Williston Rd., Beech Island, SC will host its Women’s Conference Friday, August 21 through Sunday, August 23. On Friday, August 21, 2015 at 7:00 pm, Bishop Hezekiah Pressley of New Beginning Minstries will be the speaker. On Saturday, August 22 from 9 am - 1 pm, the speakers are Carolyn Byrd, RN, North Augusta, SC, Elder Loretta Williams of Everfaithful

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AUGUSTA The Augusta-Richmond County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has been selected to serve as a Host Unit for the America’s Journey For Justice (AJFJ) Campaign! This historic event will spotlight the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law. From August 1 to September 16, 2015, America’s Journey for Justice – an historic 860-mile march from Selma, Alabama, to Washington, D.C.

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