UPW URBAN PRO WEEKLY
JANUARY 3 - 16, 2021 • VOL. 10 NO. 10
ILLUSTRATION BY MARCO VENTURA
FARMERS LOSING GROUND
MLK Celebrations Kwanzaa Job Training & Grant Opportunities
Black Farmers still struggling despite administration overtures
COMMUNITYWATCH
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Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce Intensive Entrepreneurship Training Program On December 21, 2021, twenty-five entrepreneurs celebrated completion of the Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce Intensive Entrepreneurship Training Program with a grant ceremony at Augusta Office Solutions. The fast-track program covered topics such as marketing, business structure, accounting, taxes, and more. The inaugural cohort consisted of the following businesses and entrepreneurs. Each received a small grant to support their business endeavors, courtesy of Bank of America. Congratulations to all!
Artari Graphics Brown Girls In Tech Brunch House of Augusta C & T Ready Photography Complete Solutions Cleaning Service DeKel mPact Services Elephant in the Room Counseling Services Gracefully Centered Growing Augusta: Arts, Agriculture, & Agency Iris Cove Personal Care Home Jake’s Automotive Jays Affordable Computer Service Knock on Wood Decor M Latrell Enterprises Management Company, Inc Newton Creative Consulting SMR Leadership Solutions SoulBean CoffeeHouse Soul of the City
Derek Favors, owner of Soul of the City LLC, accepts grant check from Greater Augusta Black Chamber and Bank of America representatives
TM Consultants Transportation On Time LLC dba OnTime Transportation Unforgettable Fashion Boutique Universal Child Care and Learning Center Willie Jae’s Home Service Women In Touch Health and Wellness
Grants Now Available: African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund Grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund are designed to advance ongoing preservation activities for historic places such as sites, museums, and landscapes representing
UPW URBAN PRO WEEKLY
African American cultural heritage. The fund supports work in four primary areas: Capital Projects, Organizational Capacity Building, Project Planning, and Programming and Interpretation. Grants made from the African
American Cultural Heritage Action Fund will range from $50,000 to $150,000. In 2021, the National Trust awarded $3 million to 40 projects. Since establishing the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund’s National Grant Program in
PUBLISHER Growing Augusta: Arts, Agriculture, & Agency LLC http://www.growingaugusta.co +1 (706) 751-2537 SALES & MARKETING http://www.growingaugusta.co/upw +1 (762) 233-5299
2017, the National Trust has supported more than 200 preservation projects nationally.. For full fund details, including the online form to submit a Letter of Intent, visit forum.savingplaces.org/aachactionfund.
CONTRIBUTORS K.L. Gordon Olivia Gaines Menia L. Chester Frederick Benjamin Sr. Layout/Design : UrbanProMedia
2022 ELECTION
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Nash enters race for county Chief Judge Local attorney is incoming head of Augusta Bar Association Local attorney Katrell Nash recently announced her candidacy for the office of Chief Judge of the Richmond County Civil and Magistrate Court. Nash, a Democrat, and dedicated community servant, has over a decade of legal experience in the Garden City, having practiced extensively in the Civil and Magistrate, State, and Superior Courts of Augusta and the surrounding area. She is the owner of Nash Law Office, LLC. Nash is the incoming President of the Augusta Bar Association, a Board Member on the American Red Cross East Central Region, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Zeta Xi Omega chapter, a Member of Macedonia Church of Augusta, and the founder/creator of the #KnowYourRights presentation for teens ages 11 – 18 years old. Her priorities as Chief Judge are: to make the
court accessible to the public through technology; to deliver efficient and timely resolution of legal disputes brought before the court; to make fair and just decisions based on the law; to partner with community organizations to promote education and resources available in legal matters; to divert certain crimes from misdemeanor prosecution to county ordinance violations; and to provide decisive leadership to ensure the listed objectives are achieved. Nash believes the Civil and Magistrate Court is central to our community so it is fitting that the community will decide who presides. She wants to E.M.P.O.W.E.R. by engaging members of the public with opportunity, wisdom, education, and resources. A vote for Nash is a Vote to EMPOWER. For more information about the campaign contact Kimberly Callair, Campaign Manager at (706) 829 2809.
2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Parade NAACP Theme: “When We Fight, We Win” Dyess Park Community Center Sat, Jan. 15, 2022 @ 1:00 pm
Katrell Nash
Georgia state employees likely to observe Juneteenth in 2022 ATLANTA Juneteenth will become a paid day off for Georgia employees under a calendar of state holidays for 2022 that Gov. Brian Kemp released. The memo was released two days after Cumming Republican state Rep. Lauren McDonald, on behalf of the governor, filed legislation that would expand the number of paid state holidays observed by Georgia employees from 12 to 13. House Bill 868 would update state law to stay in line with the federal government designating Juneteenth as a holiday. Though it’s expected to pass, the General Assembly will have to approve HB 868 to make Georgia’s observation of Juneteenth official. “The legislation that was pre-filed is in keeping with the state’s traditional protocol — last updated in 1984 with the addition of (the Martin Luther King Jr.) holiday — to recognize all federal holidays,” Kemp spokeswoman Katie Byrd said. Officially, Juneteenth National Independence Day — which normally falls on June 19 — recognizes the day in 1865 when some slaves in Galveston, Texas, first learned they were free, despite the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the Confederate states two years prior. The holiday was approved by Congress earlier this year and signed into law by President Joe Biden. Since then, several metro Atlanta cities have made Juneteenth an official or paid holiday. Because the holiday will fall on a Sunday in 2022, Georgia will observe Juneteenth on June 20.
WRITER’SCorner
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Concept Combinations = Creative Writing Ideas Are you waiting and hoping for creative writing ideas? Why not use some simple techniques to produce as many ideas as you will need? Here are a few to get you started. There is a technique called “concept combination” which is to create new products to sell. Use it to create new stories, and it is usually good for a few laughs and a few ideas as well. All you have to do is imaginatively combine old stories into new ones. For the most creative ideas, use stories which are unrelated in their theme. Suppose you start with the biblical story of Adam and Eve, and combine it with the movie, “Star Wars.” Perhaps in the new story a man and a woman are placed alone on a new planet, as an experiment to see what will happen over the centuries. Would they or their future offspring
develop our same ideas about God and morality or would they evolve into a society of flesh eating cannibals? Get crazy if you want. “King Kong,” and “Icarus” could become a story about when apes learn to fly with wing spas that blot out cities. However, Kong has moved past sign language and actually can speak. I know, that would be truly freaky. How about “Frankenstein” and “Gone With The Wind?” Start dreaming up those new creative writing ideas. When you begin a new article, story or book concept, make a list of what is most important to you. Take anything from that list, and find a story in it. For example, if honesty is important to you, create a story populated with characters that are defined by how honest or dishonest they are, and show the consequences
of this trait. If there is some political principle that is important to you, imagine new stories which show what happens when this principle is followed - or when it isn’t. Next, make a list of the stories you enjoy reading or watching the most. Start with any story you really like, and think about how you would have told it, or how it could be told. Then start writing to see if the idea pulls you deeper into the story. Romeo and Juliet has been successfully retold a hundred ways in books and movies, under many titles. Why not find a formula you like, which has been proven to work, and write your own updated version? Another method of concept combination is to watch the evening news and make a list of the stories. This source is mined by television shows all the time. Try to add a twist that will get the story read. For
example, take a real life issue that is in the news and approach it from a different perspective. Perhaps it could be a story of a businessman who profiteers after a hurricane, but you find a way find a way to make him the good guy. A really, rich good guy, who in the end, lives in one of the houses he helps builds, because he’s swindled, by another business man. That would be a nice plot twist. Finally, one of the best ways to get ideas is to write anything right now. The English writer Graham Green attributes his success to a simple habit: He forced himself to write at least 500 words daily, whether he felt like it or not. Creative inspiration can strike at any time, but it strikes more often when there is work instead of waiting. Just start writing and you’ll have more creative writing ideas. BY OLIVIA GAINES
BY CHANDELIS DUSTER AND JANIE BOSCHMA (CNN) Texas cattle rancher Deydra Steans quit her teaching job three years ago to help save her family’s farming operations. She was prepared for the strenuous task of herding animals. Steans, 41, usually begins her day at 7 a.m. with her 68-year-old father, Elvin Steans. The pair talk over breakfast and a cup of coffee and then head out onto their ranch to feed cattle. She often drives the skid steer, a subcompact tractor that is used for a variety of farm tasks such as clearing brush and digging holes, across the 220-acre property. Some days last until the late evenings as she takes business calls while on the go to meet with other farmers. But what keeps her up at night are the mounting bills and whether she can make the next payment. Other days she starts her mornings talking with an Internal Revenue Service officer because one of their farms, a 54-acre property, is facing seizure from the Internal Revenue Service and is up for sale. Last month, she was forced to sell eight calves and a cow to help cover an annual payment for a livestock loan. Steans is among the hundreds of Black farmers who have been rejected for loans from the US Department of Agriculture in the past two years. A CNN analysis of recent data from the agency found that more farmers of color, especially Black and Asian farmers, have been rejected for loans while the agency approved more loans for White farmers. The loan disparities persist as White farmers are suing over what they say is discriminatory language after President Joe Biden signed a Covid relief package into law earlier this year. It included $4 billion to help pay off farm loans for socially disad-
vantaged farmers and ranchers -- a group that includes Black and other minority farmers. Rejection rates for loans from the USDA were comparable for White farmers and for all non-White farmers in 2017 but diverged sharply after 2019, according to 2017-21 fiscal year USDA data obtained by CNN through a Freedom of Information Act request. The divergence is primarily driven by higher rejections for Black and Asian farmers. Black and Asian farmers had already been rejected for loans at higher rates than other farmers, but their rejections increased significantly under the Trump administration in 2020 and the first partial year of the Biden administration. In 2021, the USDA rejected direct loan applications for 42% of Black farmers and 37% of Asian farmers, a five-year high for both groups. Only 9% of White farmers were denied loans in 2021. The types of loans in the data set obtained by CNN included farm ownership, operating and emergency loans from the Direct Loan Program and farm ownership and operating loans from the Guaranteed Loan Program. The high level of rejections for loans that the USDA lends directly to farmers stands in contrast to the low levels of rejections for guaranteed loans, which are loans issued by USDAapproved lenders instead of federal loans by the agency itself. When it comes to guaranteed loans, the agency “guarantees it against loss up to a maximum of 90 percent in most cases or 95 percent in limited circumstances,” according to the USDA. Farmers can apply for direct loans at their local USDA Farm Service Agency offices and apply for guaranteed loans at a “commercial lender who participates in the Guaranteed Loan Program,” according
to a USDA fact sheet. Only 2% of farmers of color and 4% of Black farmers were denied loans from USDA-approved lenders in 2021, the data shows. But for direct loans from the USDA itself, a program the agency says is designed to provide financing for farmers unable to find it elsewhere, denials were much higher. The agency
denied funds to 20% of all farmers of color and 42% of Black farmers in 2021. “ Complete article here: https:// www.cnn.com/2021/12/15/politics/ black-farmers-debt-relief-disparities/index.html or on UPW facebook page”
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Too many Black farmers nationwide struggling to keep their farms afloat as they face disparities across the board
COMMUNITYWATCH
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Eddie Glaude, Jr. to be keynote speaker at MLK Celebration The Progressive Religious Coalition Presents: Keeping the Dream Alive: Why Dr. King’s Message Still Matters The 15th Annual Interfaith Celebration People of World Faiths Embracing Justice in Augusta The most diverse interfaith event in the CSRA includes Baha’is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Religious Humanists, & Unitarian Universalists. Monday, January 10, 2021 6:45 PM - Gathering 7:00 PM - Service
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr.
Sacred Heart Cultural Center 1301 Greene Street - Augusta, GA 30901 Music by the Davidson Fine Arts Chorale Performance by the Augusta Jr. Players For more information, visit us on Facebook ( https://www.facebook. com/PRCAugustaGA), or at our website: https://www.prcaugusta.org.
Mental Health Summit VIII
Motor Vehicle Services Update
Please mark your calendars and join us on Thursday, January 20, 2022 from 9:00AM to 1:00PM for the Mental Health Summit VIII. This is the museum’s 8th year in partnership with Augusta Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Augusta University, to provide this free mental health summit for the community. The event is free to attend. Deadline to register is January 14, 2022. Registered attendees will be provided a lunch.
Due to a scheduled statewide computer system update, Richmond County will be unable to process motor vehicle transactions from Thursday, December 30, 2021 to Monday, January 3rd, 2022. The offices will remain open to answer questions and provide any non-transactional assistance the public may require. The offices will reopen Tuesday, January 4th, 2022 for Motor Vehicle transactions.
The keynote speaker this year will be one of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. His writings, including Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own, takes a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.
Entrepreneurship Training for Veterans Our Entrepreneurship Training Program is facilitated by successful businessmen that just happen to also be veterans. We will explore three distinct paths to small business ownership: starting a business from scratch is not the only path to becoming a veteran business owner. We want you to have all the options to consider. You’ll join a group of fellow qualified veterans and Active, Guard, and Reserve military who are either exploring entrepreneurship as a career path choice or aggressively completing their
business plan. The program is completely virtual and you can attend from anywhere. We provide you with the means to network with your peers, and we bring our partners to the table to share success and failure stories along the way. The training is free of charge for all Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, and Veterans. Enrollment is open through January 4th. Sign up now below! https://www.vettoceo.org/core-program
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The Seven Principles
Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Dr. John Hayes
Olivia Gaines
Authors Club of Augusta welcomes new slate of officers, plans new programs The Authors Club of Augusta is pleased to introduce a new slate of board members for 2022-2024 including President Dr. John Hayes, Vice President Olivia Gaines, Treasurer Cathy Goldberg Fishman, and Secretary Evelyn Berry. The Authors Club of Augusta, founded in 1928, is one of the oldest cultural organizations in the CSR A. Past members include Louise Shivers, Starkey Flythe, and Edward Cashin. Present members include award-winning and best-selling novelists, poets, children’s authors, essayists, academic writers, and screenwriters. Many of the club members are nationally published and recognized. Dr. John Hayes is a historian of the 19th and 20th century United States, with a focus on the South. He is the author of Hard, Hard Religion: Interracial Faith in the Poor South (UNC Press, 2017), an analytic study of folk Christianity in the New South. He is currently working on a project that seeks to tell the complex story of 1970 Augusta Riot. Olivia Gaines is a USA Today bestselling author and winner of the Emma Award among other honors. An author of contemporary romances, she writes heartwarming stories of blossoming relationships filled with heart and humor, her titles including The Technicians, The Blakemore Files, and Modern Mail Order Brides. Cathy Goldberg Fishman is an author who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She operated a children’s bookstore in Augusta called Eeyore’s Tale from 1978-1981, where she organized birthday parties, taught children cooking, and hosted arts and creative events. She is working on her next novel A Summer Stroll in the City. Cathy lives in Augusta, GA with her husband Steven Fishman. She has two grown children and one granddaughter. Evelyn Berry is a queer writer, editor, and performer living in Aiken, South Carolina. She is the author of the novel Heathens and Liars of Lickskillet County (PR A, 2016) as well as the poetry chapbooks Glitter Husk (Good Juju, 2019) and Buggery (Bateau Press, 2020). Evelyn is the recipient of the BOOM Chapbook Prize, Emrys Poetry Prize, Patricia and Emmett Robinson Poetry Prize, K AK ALAK Poetry Award, Broad River Prize for Prose, among other honors, and their work has appeared in more than fifty publications around the world. They work as a museum educator in Aiken, South Carolina and as a creative writing consultant with Contribute Your Verse. The Authors Club of Augusta is planning a roster of literary programming that includes readings, workshops, and other special events.
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NGUZO SABA
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UMOJA VILLAGE Umoja Village News Aiken Electric Cooperative has an open position for a Marketing and Communications Coordinator in Aiken, SC. The position is open internally and externally and will close on Wed., Jan. 5, at 5pm. Here’s the link to apply: https://aikenco-op.applicantstack. com/x/detail/a2yoklro6knq ; U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn will be the keynote speaker for the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration. For the past several years, Aiken Technical College and USC Aiken presents this community event at no admission. Please mark your calendars for Sunday, Jan. 23, at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, 2049 Champion Way, Graniteville. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., event at 3 p.m. Reps from several service orgs will have booth displays about available services.
The Black Historical Committee of Aiken will hold its 22nd Annual Black History Parade on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2 p.m. This year’s theme will be: Excellence In Community Service: Honoring Betty Gyles. Entry fee is only $20.00. Pick up applications at the Smith Hazel Recreation Center, 400 Kershaw Street in Aiken; or Brothers & Sisters of Aiken, 132 York Street in Aiken. Together, let’s make this parade the best year ever and truly demonstrate unity. Attention all churches, youth groups, praise dancers, families, organizations, and businesses! For more information, call The Black Historical Committee of Aiken, 803-642-7634. Grant Recipients Named Through a very detailed and thorough evaluation process, a five-member selection committee of African American board members and community members selected the following seven organizations as recipients of the first
Rep. Jim Clyburn Aiken Tech / USC Aiken • MLK Celebration Umoja Village Funding Allocation Process based on individual dollar requests, merit of each grant, and alignment with the Umoja Village mission regarding the impacts to our area’s Black and African American youth and adults. Aiken County NA ACP Youth Council ($1,500); Carolina Vipers A AU Athletic Program ($1,000); Choices: A Lifetime Development, Inc. for scholarships ($3,000); Education Matters Nonprofit Corporation for the Education Matters Technical Symposium ($3,000); The Hankinson Boxing Gym ($5,000);
People of the World Holding Hands ($500); and SuccessTeam ($10,000). Attention all churches, organizations, and businesses, please use the Umoja Village Community Calendar as a planning tool and a marketing tool. This calendar is paid for by the Umoja Village organization and exists to help us work together so that our events and activities can be as effective as possible and to help alleviate dividing our intended audience due to multiple events planned on the same dates. You can use this calendar, on www.umojavillage.com, so others can learn what’s happening within our communities. UMOJA=UNITY
The East Central Public Health District has updated the holiday schedule for its COVID-19 testing program. People can register for testing at the websites listed below or call 706-721-5800 for additional information. •
Richmond County Health Department, 1916 North Leg Road, Augusta: Monday through Friday except Jan 3, 8 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Register at ecphd.com/covidtesting.
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Augusta University Medical Center, 524 15th St., Augusta: Monday through Saturday except Jan. 1, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register at https://ecphd.com/aumc-covidtesting.
#gardencityjazz june 27 : july 25 code: UPW text UPW to (706) 528-6855
Get UPW delivered to your inbox OR your front door. Subscribe at growingaugusta.com/upw
Have A Suggestion For A Great Story? Let us know about it. Contact Us At growingaugusta.com/upw
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Emanuel County Medical Center, 117 Kite Road, Swainsboro: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register at https://honumg.info/LTSGA014
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Screven County Health Department, 416 Pine St., Sylvania: Tuesdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register at https:// honumg.info/LTSGA033. ***We will run the extended schedule until Friday, January 14, 2021 and reassess as needed. ***
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UPW take note East Central Public Health District COVID19 Testing Hours
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Black-eyed Pea Stew for your Kwanzaa feast Live your best life! That is my motto. My name is Menia L. Chester, I am a chef and owner of Desserts by Latrell and Southern Jazz and Sweets. Kwanzaa (Swahili for “the first fruits”) is an African American time of celebration that based on traditional African harvest festivals. The celebration is from December 26 to January 1, and each day represents one of seven principles. Although I did not grow up attending Kwanzaa celebrations, I have learned so much by singing jazz music at these celebrations. I love dressing up in traditional African attire and going to community events that are centered around each of the principles. The seven principles of Kwanzaa employ Kiswahili words: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination, Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Food is essential when celebrating Kwanzaa and the largest meal takes place on the sixth night. Karamu Ya Imani (Feast of Faith) is a feast that takes place on December 31, the sixth day of Kwanzaa. The main dish served at the feast is a stew, which can come from many traditions. Here is my take on an easy black eyed pea stew that can be served anytime of the year. Happy Kwanzaa!
LATRELL’S BLACK EYED PEA STEW Serves 6-8 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 1/2 cups chopped onions ½ cup chopped green peppers ½ cup finely chopped celery 2 teaspoons chopped garlic 1 cup diced andouille sausage or smoked turkey sausage (optional) 1 pound dried black-eyed peas (please see note for canned and frozen peas) ½ teaspoon salt 8 cups of water ½ tsp of creole seasoning 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional) Topping 1 cup diced tomatoes ½ cup finely chopped green onions In a large stockpot, sausage (optional) onions, celery, green peppers, and vegetable oil. Cook for one minute. Add garlic then cook for two minutes. Add water and black-eyed peas. Increase the heat to bring everything to a boil, and stir well. Reduce the heat, add the salt, crushed red pepper and pepper and let simmer. Cook until peas are tender about 1 hour 45 minutes. Taste to adjust the seasonings. Serve with rice and top with tomatoes and green onions. Special Note: One pound of dried beans equals about 6 cups cooked beans. For canned peas drain liquid and rinse well before adding to the pot (decrease cooking time to 20 minutes). For frozen peas, add frozen peas directly to the pot. Reduce the cooking time to about 30 minutes or until peas are tender. If you have questions, would like to see other recipes, or learn about events by Latrell, please visit my website or send me an email. Website: www.southernjazzandsweets.com; Email: dessertsbylatrell@ gmail.com
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Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce Pitch Competition, Congratulations!
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