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The CSRA’s FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER VOL.3 NO.35

MAY 15 - 21, 2014

Photo by Vincent Hobbs Photo by Vincent Hobbs

THE GAME CHANGER

District 6

Ben Hasan’s quest for trust and community

Eddie Bussey 706-772-9800

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

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Candidate for Commissioner, District 4 “Community Service Resume” • Retired US Army Sergeant Major (over 28 years of service) • Commissioned “The Augusta Commercial and Retail Recruitment Initiative” a plan to bring the right business to South Augusta • Raised over $28,000.00 in scholarships for local high school students! • Partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to bring their programs to Morgan Road Middle and Jamestown Elementary Schools • Saved nearly $2,000,000.00 by operating the Jamestown Community Center for our community • Successfully lead the fight to stop the Housing Authority’s Deans Bridge Projects • Forced the VA hospital to allow “homeless sick veterans“ to use the front entrance • Saved Augusta taxpayers over $338,500.00 in SPLOST V/VI construction costs • Called the “gutsiest man in town” for challenging street gangs • Serving on the Richmond County Sheriff’s Citizens Advisory Board • Served on the CSRA Habitat for Humanity, Board of Directors (4 years) • Instrumental in getting the Traffic Light at Morgan Rd & Deans Bridge Rd Visit our web site: www.sammiesias.com 706-840-5240 Email: sgmsias98@comcast.net Committee to Elect Sammie Sias Commissioner, District 4

UrbanProWeekly • MAY 15 - 21, 2014

SAMMIE SIAS

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

Special Report: District 6 poised for political shift

District 6 THE GAME CHANGER

Prior to consolidation, power in Richmond County politics for over 40 years had traditionally emanated from influential white South Augusta politicians. When political king-makers from South Augusta controlled Augusta, they were known as the “South Augusta Mafia.” South Augusta politicians such as Jesse Carroll, Mike Padgett and Charlie Webster solidified their base of power by forming political alliances with the most influential black politicians of the day. District 6 was the home base for many of those white power brokers. On May 20, voters have the opportunity to elect the first African American to that key city-county post. Many District 6 voters feel that Ben Hasan is the perfect fit for that seat. By Frederick Benjamin Sr. UrbanProWeekly Staff Writer AUGUSTA At a recent fundraiser, District 6 candidate Ben Hasan went to an oversized map of South Augusta and asked the audience to count with him as he pointed to all of the Augusta commission districts that reached into the area south of Gordon Highway. His count didn’t stop until he reached eight. Those districts that share at least a portion of South Augusta included District 6, District 8, District 4, District 1, District 2, District 5, District 9 and District 10. The point was made. South Augusta is already a political powerhouse. The only thing that is lacking is the political cooperation and trust among the commissioners themselves. “When the commissioners and the mayor get on the same page, the community will buy-in,” Hasan said. When Hasan first moved to South Augusta in 1986 (nearly a decade before the merger of the city and county governments), there was trust among the white South Augusta politicos and their black counterparts on the Richmond County Commission. Making alliances with urban blacks made a lot of sense and those South Augusta white politicians were practical and results-oriented folks. The Southside Mafia was a Democratic club composed of white men. Before consolidation, District

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6 was a hotbed of the Southside Mafia. The district was represented at one point by powerful South Augusta politician Hobson Chavous and later on by J.B. Powell. In pre-consolidation Augusta, it was not uncommon to see Southside politicians like Chavous, Mike Padgett, Powell and others huddling with black politicians in the heavily African-American districts making deals and getting things done. African American politicians like Ed McIntyre, Henry Brigham, Willie Mays and Charles Walker realized that when they needed political allies, they could rarely look to West Augusta or the entrenched white power brokers in downtown Augusta. Before consolidation, there was a natural alliance between blacks and South Augusta whites because they were all Democrats. Back in those days, the Richmond County commissioners ran as either Democrats or Republicans. One political strategy used by the Southside Mafia was to have fliers sent to black voters asking for support in electing Southsiders to political posts. In exchange, Southside politicians sent fliers to white voters encouraging them to vote for black candidates such as Rep. Henry Howard and former mayor Ed McIntyre. In the political “tickets” circulated in the African American community, Southside white politicians frequently were named for support. A 1988 endorsement for Jesse

Publisher Ben Hasan 706-394-9411 Managing Editor Frederick Benjamin Sr. 706-306-4647

District 6 candidate Ben Hasan has realized that the greatest potential game changer in Augusta politics is the election of a strong consensus builder in that district. While the mayoral race has captured much of the public’s attention, an African-American elected to District 6 would represent the most significant power shift in Augusta politics since the merger of the city and county governments nearly 20 years ago. Hasan feels that white-black political cooperation can be the catalyst that propels the city into a new era of trust and progress. Photo by Vncent Hobbs. Carroll which was circulated in the black community stated, “We don’t need the Augusta newspapers controlling our election. The newspaper is supporting the Republican opposition.” One of the most powerful politicians in Augusta was Charlie Webster, a member of the Southside Mafia and a close political ally to State Senator Walker. To many of the old Southside group, their main adversaries were

Sales & Marketing Phone: 706-394-9411 Photography and Social Media Courtesy of Vincent Hobbs

not blacks (who did not pose any political threats), but rather other white Augustans who lived either downtown or in West Augusta. The white West Augusta politicians controlled the cit y politics and they were heavily Republican. The perception in many parts of t he black communit y back before consolidation was that the “countr y club” whites looked Continued on next page

email: Ben Hasan bzhasan54@yahoo.com Frederick Benjamin Sr. editor@urbanproweekly.com Vincent Hobbs coolveestudio@gmail.com

5 UrbanProWeekly • MAY 15 - 21, 2014

District 6 At a Glance • Tobacco Road, Peach Orchard Road, Deans Bridge Road and Windsor Spring Road are all major thoroughfares that are synonymous with South Augusta’s vibrant District 6. • A $30 million I-520/Bobby Jones project underway in South Augusta. The Peach Orchard/Windsor Spring/I-520 corridor has the traffic and infrastructure to attract new investment • District 6 along with other South Augusta neighborhoods is one of the prime spots to locate in the Aiken, Columbia County and Augusta area. • The District continues to attract new retailers. Recently, Dunkin’ Donuts and Firehouse Subs boasted the opening of brand new stores. The redevelopment of Windsor Square shopping center will bring a Chick-fil-A and Krispy Kreme to the district as part of a revitalization plan to create a new first class retail and restaurant destination for South Augusta. • With the ongoing growth at Fort Gordon and the new Starbucks manufacturing facility coming online next year with the Rockwood facility to follow shortly, District 6 is poised for quality growth in the coming years. • District 6 is home of two of the city’s top 10 employers, Gracewood State School and Hospital and Sitel Corporation. This week Sitel announced expansioin plans. The zone is also the home of Augusta Technical College. • The city is planning for growth in District 6. A new Utilities and Tag office that will be located in the BiLO complex on Rosier and Deans Bridge in the fall of this year.

ROOM TO GROW IN DISTRICT 6: There is plenty of land available in District 6 for retail, wholesale, real estate, recreationsl, educational and cultural investment. Photos by Vincent Hobbs

Hasan from page 4 down on the whites who were relegated to the hinterlands of South Augusta. Restaurant ow ner La r r y Sconyers was a political force in south Augusta. At one point, he was chairman of the Richmond County Commission from District 8. Sconyers took over leadership of the Southside Mafia after the passing of Jesse Carroll, another powerful Southside politician and Democrat. Sconyers once told a reporter, “When I first got to be a commissioner, the county commission hated the city and the city hated the county. They made me feel like I needed a passport to get into the city of Augusta.” Sadly, the coalition between urban blacks and suburban whites in South Augusta began to crumble just prior to the advent of consolidation. By 1994, Mike Padgett had been defeated by a Republican from South Augusta, George DeLoach. Another white Republican, Ulmer Bridges won the District 8 seat.

Many of the original South Augusta members were either retiring voluntarily or by losing elections. After consolidation, the decline was hastened. Even though Larry Sconyers became mayor and Webster remained the county’s chief law enforcement officer, the ability to control the outcome of elections and with it the ability to award their friends, family and allies disappeared. District 6 also took on a different character. The Southside Mafia influence all but disappeared when J.B. Powell decided not to seek reelection. Andy Cheek succeeded Powell in District 6 and Joe Jackson followed suit. Prior to consolidation, the racial tension in politics was chief ly among those politicians within the city limits of Augusta where the races were nonpartisan. After consolidation, the racial divisions in local politics became more sharply pronounced. Since the new government was non partisan, following the old city

charter model, the racial divisions that plagued the old Augusta city council was almost immediately transferred to the new consolidated government. The fact that the new consolidated government used race as its road map enhanced the racial divide. Four black and four white districts were created. The southside/ westside divide was replaced with the white/black divide and their has been gridlock ever since. There were even “gentleman’s agreements’ made to ensure racial parity. Since the merger between the two governments, the alliance between black politicians and white south Augusta politicians has been undermined. Racial mistrust had begun to trump party affiliation and class status until at times the political discussion had become simply, white versus black. All that can change with the election of Ben Hasan as the new leader in District 6. If that hap-

pens, a new era of cooperation could develop among white and black politicians. The compulsion to maintain 50-50 black white parity could give way to genuine cooperation and trust among the city’s lawmakers. Ben Hasan sees the need to rekindle those old working relationships within the framework of the new consolidated government. Hasan has never been a position to broker deals, but as a consensus builder, he has had plenty of experience brokering the peace. It is important to note that southside commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle was prominent at one of Hasan’s recent fund raisers. “We’re in a great place to be able to transition to new leadership,” Hasan said. “Since 2006, I have been addressing all of the issues important to the citizens of Augusta in a nonpartisan fashion. If elected, I plan to spend some quality time with my fellow commissioners building trust and respect.”

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

Georgia leads Medicaid sign-ups Not all numbers likely tied to new law, but states will have to deal with costs. States that have refused a federal offer to expand Medicaid are still seeing significant sign-ups for the safety-net program that serves the poor, and Georgia leads the nation. In a report released Tuesday that raises political and budget implications, the market analysis firm Avalere Health estimated that at least 550,300 more people had signed up for Medicaid through the end of March in 17 out of 26 states that have not yet expanded eligibility for the program under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Georgia topped the list, with 98,800 new Medicaid beneficiaries. North Carolina followed, with 58,000. In percentage terms, Montana saw the largest increase: just over 10 percent. The actual number of sign-ups could be even higher because Avalere did not report data for populous Florida. Health officials call the surge in sign-ups the “woodwork effect”: People showed up “out of the woodwork” to claim benefits, presumably because publicity about the Affordable Care Act — and fines for failure to obtain health insurance — prompted them for the first time to seek the coverage to which they were already entitled. However, it’s not clear exactly how many of these beneficiaries are brand-new to Medicaid and

part of the woodwork effect that states anticipated as part of the Affordable Care Act’s rollout. The latest federal report Avalere used for its analysis notes that “multiple factors contribute to the change in enrollment ” seen since last year. State Medicaid programs frequently experience fluctuations in enrollment. For instance, people who get jobs may fall off the rolls only to rejoin Medicaid The catch for the states that have not expanded Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor, is that they could be getting billions of dollars more from the federal government. Instead, the federal contribution for their additional beneficiaries is determined under a less-generous funding formula than the one for states that accepted the expansion. “I don’t think a lot of these states anticipated the kind of enrollment they would be getting,” said Avalere CEO Dan Mendelson. “The states are going to have to figure out a way to pay for the increase.” Virginia, where Medicaid expansion has led to a political impasse between new Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and GOP lawmakers, had nearly 37,000 new beneficiaries, a 3.6 percent increase. But Texas, the state with the

largest proportion of uninsured residents, saw hardly any increase. The health care law, as passed in 2010, provided for the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — about $16,100 for an individual. The goal was to provide coverage for lowincome adults with no children living at home. But the Supreme Court in a 2012 ruling gave states the right to opt out of that expansion. About half have done so, although some are reconsidering. The law calls for Washington to

pay the full cost of the Medicaid expansion through 2016, gradually phasing down to 90 percent. The federal government contributes a much lower share for the rest of the program, averaging about 60 percent. On top that, they will now have to dedicate more resources to cover additional Medicaid beneficiaries. “Unlike the states that have expanded, they aren’t seeing any of the benefits of the full federal funding for the newly eligible residents,” said Judy Solomon of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Building a model community through trust

Ben ELECT

Hasan

Commission District 6 MY PRIORITIES AS COMMISSIONER WILL BE TO: • Build trust among my commission colleagues • Work with other leaders and elected officials to make sure our streets are safe, neighborhoods are clean, and growth is controlled • Promote District 6 as “business friendly” for existing and prospective businesses • Create a group to research, propose and implement major development projects for District 6 and South Augusta

Always moving our community into the future

The last resident of Cherry Tree Crossing vacated the property within the last 3 weeks.

WACG station manager Drew Dawson edits an audio clip from the “Cherry Tree Listening project” in his office on the GRU campus. Cherry Tree Crossing is the former Sunset Homes. The buildings are set to be demolished this summer. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

GPB project documents the stories of Augusta’s last public housing residents The Cherry Tree Listening Project is a multi-part series of interviews conducted with residents of Cherry Tree Crossing, in order to preserve the stories and oral history of one of the oldest public housing complexes in Richmond County. Residents were able to share their stories of living in the community. WACG station manager Drew Dawson sat down with UPW to give us the details of the assignment. Interview by Vincent Hobbs Urban Pro Weekly: How did you become involved in the Cherry Tree Listening Project? DAWSON: It started with a meeting with Brenda Durant from the Greater Augusta Arts Council. She mentioned that they were looking for projects that talked about “art for social change.” Cherry Tree was mentioned and she shared the idea to save the stories of the neighborhood, before the neighborhood was erased. As we were talking about it, it became very clear that this was the perfect public radio project. We started to pull together the pieces to pull this off. We brought in GRU student interns, we met with the Sociology Department to help formulate questions, and we did training sessions with the interns and other members of the team. We talked to the folks at the Augusta Housing Authority and got their input and also the folks at the front line of the relocation process. They embraced what we were doing and

helped us to get in touch with the residents. UPW: How were residents selected to be included in the project? DAWSON: A lot of it was willingness to participate. We told the Housing Authority that if it wasn’t possible to include every resident, we wanted to make sure we had a representative sample from different parts of the complex. They made the approach for us, because they already had personal relationships with the residents. We made it very clear that we wanted to get the real story. UPW: Did you discover any surprises from residents during the interviews? DAWSON: There were a bunch of surprises. The residents were very much aware of the fact that Cherry Tree had a bad rep - and that a lot of the bad rep was driven by media who

were looking for a sensational story to tell. But they also talked about the reunions, where former residents came back and had giant cook-outs. They talked about the summertime and the huge water balloon fights, where everybody from three years of age to eighty years would just have fun and cool off in the neighborhood, and they also talked about how safe and communal that felt. There was also the story of a family of six whose young kids witnessed a man get gunned down and murdered on their front lawn. You can’t erase that, and these are children. Yet, these kids (now teens) still have a positive overall view of Cherry Tree and they are well-adjusted through their committed family bonds. UPW: When will the project air on WACG? DAWSON: It airs weekdays in May during “Morning Edition” at 7:35 a.m. and during “All Things Considered” at 5:44

p.m. on 90.7 FM WACG/GPB-Augusta. UPW: Give us an update on the progress of the station since you took over the reins last August. DAWSON: A lot has happened. We now have a daily community calendar on-air, voiced by students here at the university. We started a pretty robust internship program, where students in the Communications Department are producing assignments that will actually get used on the air. A lot of the interviews for the Cherry Tree Listening Project were done by students. We’re making this a vehicle where students studying Communications can take some of the things they’ve learned and use them in a real-world environment and be judged by professional standards. We spend a lot of time in the studios working with students. We’re developing relationships with “forward-thinking” key influencers to get a feel for where the needs are in the community. There are also some serious conversations going on about the creation of a local content talk show. ht tp:// w w w.g pb.or g / news/2014/05/06/stories-from-thecherry-tree-listening-project

7 UrbanProWeekly • MAY 15 - 21, 2014

WACG’s Drew Dawson and the Cherry Tree Listening Project

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

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UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

Now Playing: God ‘Bout Tired of Y’all at the Mini Theatre The Augusta Mini Theatre’s latest production opens Friday, May 23rd at 8:00 p.m. and continues Saturday, the 24th at 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. and Sunday the 25th at 3:00 in the Judith Simon Drama Studio on campus of Augusta Mini Theatre, 2548 Deans Bridge Road, Augusta, GA. Augusta Mini Theatre’s founder/executive Tyrone J. Butler wrote the play and he, along with Claude Harris, has written song with the same title. The Mini Theatre drama (75) students,

ages 6-19, study with the acclaimed actress/drama instructor and director, Judith Simon-Butler, will perform the song during the play. It’s a play that looks at people who proclaim to follow and be obedient to God’s “Word”, but do very little to uplift the needy. A play about people that know the “Word” from A to Z, but demonstrate very little Christianity: Charity. In the play, God discusses his frustration with a “Chosen” few and encourages

them to return to earth and give of themselves, resources to help others. General admission is $10.00 for all patrons. (No infants under 2). For tickets or to make a tax-exempt donation visit Augusta Mini Theatre at the Deans Bridge Road location or call 706-722-0598 or visit www.augustaminitheatre.com. All credit cards accepted. The Heavenly Host Sponsor is Georgia Regents University-Augusta. Additional sponsors are Augusta Regional Airport,

International Paper Foundation, Perry Broadcasting, Fifth Third Bank, Publix Super Markets Charities, Wells Fargo, Knox Foundation, Augusta-Richmond County, Wright 1 Paint & Body Shop, The Metro Courier, Parade of Quartets, WKZK, Clear Channel, Kohl’s, WAAW Rejoice Radio, UrbanProWeekly and Mr. & Mrs. Jesse & Kathy King. The play is dedicated to our student, Demonta Collins who was recently hit by a car, running from a dog and killed.

AUGUSTA Tabernacle Baptist Church will host its annual Kingdom Living Conference “Empowering the Family,” May 29- June 1, 2014. The conference is an all-inclusive event for each member of the family. The conference theme is “Empowering the Family.” The conference is designed to help families’ triumph over the things that bind them whether spiritually, emotionally or physically. The conference will be held at Tabernacle Baptist Church and registration for the Kingdom Living Conference is open to all. Registration for the conference is $10 per person and $20 per family. The conference will kick off on Thursday, May 29 with Rev. Dr. E Dewey Smith of The Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga. at 7:00 p.m. This service will take place in the sanctuary located inside Tabernacle Baptist Church. The conference will continue through the weekend to include “Family Fun Night” on Friday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m. at Skateland on Windsor Spring Rd. Admission is $5.00 per person, which includes skate rental and a snack. The final conference session will be Saturday, May 31 at 8:00 a.m. featuring a group of dynamic speakers including Rev. Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Jr., senior pastor/teacher of Tabernacle Baptist Church, Pastor P. Michael McNair of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Thomasville, NC, Lady Leah McNair of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Thomasville, NC and Pastor Reginald Bell of Fresh Start Church in Charlotte, NC. Conference registration/check-in will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 31st in the Tabernacle Family Life Center. Join us on each conference day or register for each individual session. See details below. You can also register in advance online at www.tbcaugusta.org. For more information, call (706) 724-1230 or visit Tabernacle Baptist Church website at at www.tbcaugusta.org.

2014 Community Block Party Friday, May 23rd 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Corner of Turpin St. and Martin Luther King Blvd. Festivities include free food, free drinks & prize giveaways for children ages 14 and under. For more information, please contact the City of Augusta Special Events at 821-1754 or JR’s Stop and Shop (706) 7225613. Sponsored by the Augusta Recreation, Parks & Facilities Department , JR’s Stop and Shop and Perry Broadcasting

The Loving Story A film that is part of Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle Film Series The second in the series that the Augusta Museum of History will be presenting is the film The Loving Story on May 22, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. in the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library, 1st floor multi-purpose room. Admission is free. This film is a documentary of Richard and Mildred Loving. Their interracial marriage led to their arrest and a Supreme Court case in Virginia in 1965. There were a number of Civil Rights laws passed during the early 1960s to reverse earlier 20th Jim Crow laws. The film screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by William R. Coleman, Jr, Attorney. Coleman is an attorney that has served on Civil Rights panels and has practiced law for over 50 years. Dr. Lee Ann Caldwell, Georgia Regents University Historian and Director of the Center for Georgia Studies will be serving as Humanities Scholar. The Created Equal film set is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

UrbanProWeekly • MAY 15 - 21, 2014

Tabernacle Baptist Church to host Kingdom Living Conference

LAW & ORDER

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

Congress makes modest NSA reform On May 8, 2014, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence approved the USA Freedom Act without changes. The bill will now be considered by the full US House of Representatives. WASHINGTON The US House Judiciary Committee took a long overdue step on May 7, 2014, with its move to reform one aspect of the government’s mass surveillance programs, Human Rights Watch said today. The committee approved unanimously a revised version of the USA Freedom Act that would aim to end the government’s bulk collection of telephone metadata and other records in the United States. Ending bulk metadata and records collection is acritical component of the reforms needed to rein in the US government’s mass surveillance programs, Human Rights Watch said. “The USA Freedom Act revision would help end one of the most problematic programs Edward Snowden revealed last year,” said Cynthia Wong, senior Internet researcher at Human Rights Watch. “However, the bill does not address needed reforms to surveillance programs that affect millions of people outside US borders.” The compromise bill aims to prohibit bulk collection of records by the government, including phone and internet metadata, under several existing laws. These changes address key reforms that many nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have urged. However, several proposed reforms that were also much needed from the prior version of the USA Freedom Act have been removed or weakened. For example, there is no longer a provision that creates a special advocate to argue the public’s interest in the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. The amended version also fails to incorporate another provision from the original draft, which removed a requirement that a judge considering a challenge to a gag order must treat government claims that disclosure would harm national security as conclusive. On May 8, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is expected to review the USA Freedom Act, as well as its own bill. Although many important reforms remain outstanding, the intelligence committee should pass the amended USA Freedom Act without further weakening it, and Congress should move swiftly to advance the proposal, Human Rights Watch said. The compromise version of the bill incorporates many of the proposals put forward this year by President Barack Obama. It intends to prohibit the type of sweeping collection of records that has been authorized in the past by requiring agencies to at least designate “specific selection terms” as the basis for a request. This requirement is intended to prevent collection of all phone records, as well as other kinds of business records, under Section 215 of the Patriot Act and other relevant laws. The effectiveness of this requirement will depend on how this term is interpreted in practice. The bill also creates new government reporting requirements, allows companies to report limited information

about the orders they receive, provides a mechanism for emergency requests, and establishes a panel of experts that the FISA court may ask to intervene in specific cases. But the bill would do little to increase protections for the right to privacy for people outside the US, a key problem that plagues US surveillance activities.

Nor would the bill address mass surveillance or bulk collection practices that may be occurring under other laws or regulations, such as Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act or Executive Order 12333. These practices affect many more people and include the collection of the actual content of internet communications and phone calls, not

just metadata. “Without deeper reform, the US risks helping to create a world in which nobody can feel safe communicating online,” Wong said. “It’s time for Congress to correct course, not only by quickly approving this bill but also by promptly bringing about deeper reforms to NSA surveillance.”

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Marquitta Graham (L), owner of Spice of NY hair salon, talks with the panel of judges during a casting event held at the Legends Club. Fashion guru Dwight Eubanks (center) and Sabrina J (R) also helped to select models for the upcoming BASE Awards, a hair and fashion fashion event. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Award winning stylist brings hair excitement to Augusta UPW: What are the 1st Annual BASE Awards? MARQUITTA GRAHAM: The BASE (Brilliance, Achievement, Skills and Exhibit) Awards provide a staged event where professionals who have labored in their industry can unite and exhibit on a level of excellence. The BASE Awards will also bring skilled achievers to annual events to conduct classes, make presentations and interact within networking venues. The BASE Awards will acknowledge, challenge and award individuals for their excellence of achievement. UPW: How did your salon, Spice of NY (SPONY), become involved in the event? GRAHAM: Spice of New York is an award-winning salon. For the last six years, we have competed in Hair Competitions and Battles in Baltimore, Atlanta and South Carolina and other places. Out of approximately sixteen battles, we have lost only one. Our last victory was in December 2013 at the National Golden Scissors Awards. We decided to give Augusta a peek at what we had been taking around the world and sharing with others. With my twenty-plus years of cosmetology experience and the exposure we gained through competitions, I believed it was time for the next level. UPW: You conducted two model calls (casting events) to find talent for the runway shows; what sort of response did you get from interested talent? What would like to

see happen at future casting calls? GRAHAM: The response was awesome. Of course, we were not able to use everyone that auditioned but we got some great picks. There were fewer people at the first model call. Once we got the radio stations involved, the second model call was a full of individuals of all sizes, ages, cultures and different sexes. It was very successful. In the future, we will definitely advertise earlier and use word-of-mouth and social media but we will also advertise on the radio again. It was deemed to be an excellent source. UPW: Do you feel that Augusta could become a fashion market, where budding clothing designers, hairstylists and models can have a place to hone and expand their skills and talent? GRAHAM: Yes, I do. I feel that Augusta has a lot of talented, creative and artsy people. Once a person exercises their right to go beyond what society or social circles have established as their limit, they are on their way to expansion. That can happen right here in Augusta. Because it is also a military town, Augusta houses many cultures that bring their history and flavor. In the beauty industry, right here in Augusta, you will see a wide variety of trends, cultures and expressions of beauty through the way people wear their hair, makeup, attire, etc. UPW: What sorts of hair styles should attendees expect to see on the runway?

GRAHAM: BASE will showcase a variety of hair styles in the hair competition segment. One component being showcased is the CSRA Student Battle. BASE has gathered students from various schools, who will take the stage showing their art and creativity. In addition, we have professional licensed stylists from Augusta, Orangeburg and Columbia, South Carolina who will be competing on-stage for the Hair Boss Title of 2014. All competitors in the hair competitions will present four models within a themed presentation segment. Their model’s hair styles will range from short to long lengths, weave and natural styles, braids, and the most-favored category of “Arvangante”. Spice of New York, led by our lead stylist Hannah Bailey, will showcase a live presentation of fourteen models that will blow the minds of every spectator. Hair designs will include rhinestones, balloons, chandeliers, garments, hats and colors. Some hairstyles will even glow in the dark. Augusta has never seen what Spice of New York and the 1st Annual BASE Awards production is revealing on May 17, 2014. UPW: Who are some of the clothing designers that will be presenting their fashions on the runway? GRAHAM: Keturah Body Jewelry, Ice Cream Hosiery Legs, Plush Boutique, Wear-n-Tear Designer, John Ashford Shoes and Lisa Nicole Fashions will be onstage. UPW: How did Dwight Eubanks

(fashion guru on “Housewives of Atlanta”) become involved in the event? GRAHAM: Mr. Eubanks was contacted by our sponsorship coordinator, Sabrina Jefferies of New York. Since he is the salon owner/operator of The Purple Door salon in Atlanta, he instantly connected with the vision and purpose of the BASE Awards. I just believe that when you have a vision you have to believe in your vision. Once you believe and then begin to execute, provisions will open up to you. I believed enough to say, “Let’s do it”. Mr. Eubanks connected with that vision and excelled the vision up to the level intended. UPW: There are several community leaders and innovators who will be honored during this event. What sort of selection process did SPONY use to choose these honorees? GRAHAM: BASE’s premise is that high levels of success and achievement is attainable. We chose individuals in the community who were shining in their art, skill, profession and character. The chosen individuals exemplify, on a daily basis, the esteem of honor that they will receive at the BASE Awards. The award winners include Jay Jefferies Brilliance Award, Kimberly Beasley Achievement Award, Rev. Christopher Lesley – Skills Award, and Montrice and Chris Armstead – Exhibit Award. Interview conducted by Vincent Hobbs

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

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FORUM

The forgotten pictures of a music chronicler uncovered THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF JIM CUMMINS

Above: Miles Davis At right: Tina Turner Photos by Jim Cummins by Andrea Shea For more than three decades, Chris Murray ran the Govinda Gallery in Washington, D.C. He still curates shows and also edits books about rock ‘n’ roll photography. “To find an archive that’s been lost, if you will, or overlooked, it’s always a wonderful and extraordinary thing,” he says. In New York City, a trove of forgotten photographs depicting music icons such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin is being displayed for the first time. The original negatives had been boxed up for decades in photojournalist Jim Cummins’ basement. “The thing I liked about Jim Cummins’ archive the most was the album covers,” Murray says. “I must say, it was the vinyl long-play album and the 45 [RPM record] jackets where I feel photography and music really had their greatest moments, because they entered into literally millions and millions of people’s homes.” During the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, Cummins’ work graced more than 900 album covers. “Talk about getting your ego stroked,” Cummins says. “You know, walk into a record store and you see a wall of like 50 to maybe 100 album covers that you shot. It’s kind of mind-blowing.” Staying Out Of The Way Talk to just about anybody who

knows him, and they’ll tell you Cummins does not have an ego. That’s one of the qualities that made him successful. “The one thing that was key with me was to be unobtrusive,” he says. “You know you didn’t want to interrupt a session; you know you weren’t there as a fan, you’re there to work. Not seen and not heard. You’re a ghost. Especially in the studio, you really had to stay out of the way, because there was just so much tension.” The tension was thick at the Record Plant in New York City when Hendrix and his producers were laying down tracks for the song “Izabella.” “Between takes, they’d be rewinding — and he’d look over at me and I was looking at him — and then [I’d] raise the camera and start shooting,” Cummins says. “You know, I had the camera in a case as to where you couldn’t hear it going off. You really had to play it very carefully, ‘cause you didn’t want to interrupt anything.” Apparently he didn’t. Cummins got a chance to talk to Hendrix briefly. But the photographer’s favorite place to shoot was arenas. “There are moments within a concert that — it’s the height of it,” Cummins says. “That that person’s really into it. The expression is really there. Cummins says he took his first picture when he was 7, growing up

Jimi Hendrix by Jim Cummins

in Harlem. He attended New York City’s famed High School of Music and Art and gravitated toward music photography. But in 1977, Cummins left music for sports. Photo editor Gary Hoenig says he recalls hiring him for The New York Times’ sports section. “Jim came in, a very unassuming, pleasant photographer,” Hoenig says. “African-American — not an easy thing to be in the ‘70s.” Hoenig says that may actually have helped Cummins as a photographer. “Look, there were still athletes who were coming out of the segregated schools of the South,” he says. “There were still musicians who still couldn’t play in certain clubs when they were growing up. To have somebody with them in those intimate moments who was of their culture, of their race, had to give them a comfort level that they just couldn’t get with white people in those days. And I don’t want to overstate the generic or the stereotype here, especially because Jim is such a gentleman, and such a good guy. He’s such a decent person.” Accentuate The Negatives Over the decades, Cummins, now 67, says he pretty much forgot about the stash of unpublished music negatives boxed up in his basement. Then, in 2012, he showed the trove to Bob Pokress of Image Fortress, a Massachusetts company that restores and digitizes photos for the Chicago

Tribune and the U.S. National Archives, among others. Pokress reverently pulls a vintage magazine out of protective wrapping. “One of the moments that I was trembling, just in terms of the significance of it, was when Jim pulled out the original slide behind a photo that was used in the October 1970 issue of Lifemagazine that Life ran as the obituary photo a few weeks after Jimi Hendrix died,» Pokress says. Cummins says he remembers taking that picture at Madison Square Garden, not long before the guitarist died at age 27. It shows Hendrix from the waist up. The musician is looking down. “It’s an intense picture,” Cummins says. “He’s just isolated. I think there’s one little light. It’s a more quiet Jimi, and I wanted to get that and present that in a way — you know, compose it the way I wanted.” That picture and 11 others from the first group of restored negatives are now on display at the Baboo Gallery in New York City. Cummins says he also plans to publish more unseen images in a book. “I could’ve sold this stuff before, OK?” he says. “I would’ve gotten a decent price, but I wouldn’t have anything now.” Now, Cummins says he’s excited that part of his restored collection — which contains more than 2,500 images — is available online for everyone to see.

LETTERS

At the May 6, 2014 Augusta Commission meeting, a citizen activist by the name of Al Gray made a presentation before the Commission regarding the next SPLOST VII (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) vote. I was in attendance at this meeting and was both disappointed and appalled by the disrespect shown to Mr. Gray by four of our sitting Commissioners. Mary Davis, Joe Jackson and Grady Smith carried on a conversation with giggling no less among them for almost the full time that Mr. Gray was speaking. After Mr. Gray completed his presentation, there was a question and answer period. Instead of Donnie Smith asking a question of Mr. Gray in a professional manner, Mr. Gray was accosted in a very venomous ugly manner. We talk about the potential for our city if we work in harmony. How will we ever achieve this objective if our city leaders can’t do something as simple as respect a person standing before them with a right to the floor? When a citizen makes a presentation before the commission they do have a right to expect basic courtesy. I left this commission meeting truly disheartened at what I had witnessed. Objections To SPLOST Are Valid The desperate desire of some of our leaders to pass the next SPLOST is revealing some unsavory behavior. Recently on television, Mayor Deke Copenhaver stated that “those not supporting SPLOST VII did not support the arts, does not care about our city image with Cyber Command coming and we do not care about cancer patients.” Citizens should be outraged at such assertions. These assertions are unfounded and to make them is totally unbecoming from the leadership of this city. This was an attempt to manipulate anti-SPLOST supporters into changing their positions on the SPLOST vote. Many against SPLOST VII support the Arts. However, the Arts are considered outside interest groups. If they are to be included in SPLOST, there are other art groups that have been totally left out. The Symphony, Ballet, and Opera are primarily supported by more affluent members of our community. The art groups catering to other segments of our community should also be included. The objections to SPLOST VII are valid. SPLOST VII is not a fair SPLOST package. This package does not maximize benefit to the greatest majority of citizens. When it comes to our city image as related to Cyber Command, how will Cyber Command officials feel about traveling the streets of Augusta constantly dodging pot holes, buying a house in a community where the infrastructure is so old that you have to worry about whether a water main will burse or other flooding. Our city infrastructure has been neglected for so long that it is at critical mass. It is finally time for infrastructure to have the SPLOST priority. The greatest threat to Richmond County regarding Cyber Command is not anti-SPLOST

voters. It will be real estate agents that do their best to channel home buyers from locating in Richmond County to Columbia County. I love GRU. I graduated from and was employed for many years by what was then known as the Medical College of Georgia. Cancer research is important, but don’t give the impression that because we have infrastructure needs that we do not care about Cancer research. Augusta tax payers to my memory gave GRU $10 million for the construction of the Dental School. We care, but we also care about the deplorable conditions we encounter regarding the infrastructure foundation of our city. Who in their right mind builds a house on a weak foundation? Our foundation is crumbling. GRU also serves other counties within the CSRA to include affluent Columbia and Aiken counties. We should also request that they help support GRU initiatives. Many that live in these counties are employed at GRU. Citizen safety is a priority for any government. If Mayor Copenhaver truly had citizen safety as a concern, he would gladly give up his request for millions of dollars for the textile mills. There is no firm plan for the future of the mills and this amount of money would certainly enhance public safety. Our Mayor talks the public safety talk, but clearly does not walk the walk. I believe Sheriff Roundtree is an honorable public servant that will always use whatever resources he has to protect our citizens to the fullest extent of his ability. Sheriff Roundtree could benefit more, not less, from a revised SPLOST package. Why? Safety is also a citizen priority. We should vote no on SPLOST VII and let the Commission with newly elected members revise this plan with citizen input. Mayor Copenhaver should be ashamed for using unethical tactics to manipulate SPLOST votes. It is time for a new mayor. Ben Hasan For District 6 The representation for District 6 and Super District 10 as it relates to South Augusta has been poor. I urge the voters of District 6 to look very carefully at the candidates offering to serve us. Many can make promises. Ben Hasan has been an active community citizen and has regularly attended commission meetings for years. I sincerely believe that Ben will not only work to improve South Augusta, but work for all of Augusta. Ben deserves the chance to represent us as our District 6 Commissioner. We should give Brandon Dial a chance to be elected to Super District 10. Mr. Dial is a young smart fiscally conservative father of two young children. He has a vested interest in improving our community. We need to do better by the young people offering themselves for service and give their ideas a chance. Augusta cannot prosper if our young people cannot find opportunity and respect here. Most importantly, be a part of the process. Take the time to study the

candidates and then vote. Augusta will have a better chance of reaching its potential when more citizens become interested and engaged.

Submitted by JUANITA L. BURNEY 2208 Cadden Road, Augusta, Georgia 30906

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UrbanProWeekly • MAY 15 - 21, 2014

Vote for Ben Hasan; Shame on rude commissioners and SPLOST deception

UrbanProWeekly •MAY 15 -21, 2014

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