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MAKIN’ A DIFFERENCE COMMENTARY by Ken Makin We need holistic, people-based infrastructure
Nearly 15 years ago, when I began the Augusta city beat, one debate took over the news: Do we really need a TEE Center and parking deck?
The answer, of course, was no. However, there was a proposal tied to the presumed success of the Augusta Convention Center and adjacent parking deck on Reynolds Street – the revitalization of the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods.
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It didn’t matter that the TEE Center would share the same fate as other boondoggles such as the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, which were seen as a waste of space and money even before the start of the pandemic. COVID threw hotel sales, which were supposed to be the lifeblood of convention center proposals like the TEE Center, into a tailspin.
It would all be worth it to revitalize the Laney Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods, which had been ravaged with blight and dilapidation. This proposal would change the face of a community, but not like many people thought it would.
A lot of the displaced faces were Black, and what was billed as urban renewal felt a lot like gentrification.
The challenge of growth and revitalization within a community should always lead with conscience. Sadly, most cities and their corporatist officials lead with capitalism. In a country where people suffer from
Georgia Historical Society to dedicate Historical Marker recognizing Augusta’s Chinese Community and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
AUGUSTA
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) will dedicate a new historical marker recognizing “The Augusta Chinese and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association” in partnership with the Augusta Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) on Friday, May 19, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. The historical marker describes the formation of one of the oldest Chinese communities in the eastern United States and the CCBA, the first incorporated Chinese organization in Georgia. The dedication is open to the public and will take place at 548 Walker Street in Augusta.
“We’re proud that the CCBA has been part of the cultural experience of Augusta for nearly 100 years,” said Gary Tom, CCBA President, whose great-uncle Sam Jue was a founding member. “This recognition by the Georgia Historical Society creates a lasting legacy that honors the first Chinese families who built their lives here in Augusta, who raised families here, and who became a vibrant part of this city.”
As a result of a civil war in homelessness, lack of transportation and opportunity, we feature housing developments as a sign of community uplift. It is simply not accurate.
China, the United States saw an increase of Chinese immigration by the 1870s. When the City of Augusta sought to widen and deepen the Augusta Canal, it contracted over 200 Chinese laborers in 1873 to execute the canal’s expansion. Many laborers remained, forming a community there. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) halted the immigration of Chinese laborers until its repeal in 1943, but because the act did not apply to merchants, Augusta’s established merchant-class community saw continued growth. The Chinese community in Augusta became the largest Chinese population in Georgia until the mid-twentieth century. Seeking an organized avenue for supporting the community, members founded the Augusta CCBA, later incorporated in 1927, which remains active in Augusta.
To learn more about the “The Augusta Chinese and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association” historical marker, please contact Keith Strigaro, Director of Communications at the Georgia Historical Society, at 912651-2125 ext. 153 or kstrigaro@ georgiahistory.com.
I would hope this is not the intent of housing departments, and I would agree that the notion of “affordable housing” goes beyond proposals such as the ones in the Laney-Walker neighborhood, or even those on the way in South Augusta. Affordable housing should be mutually related to a livable wage, which would provide profound security to residents. Because the price of housing continues to rise far beyond take-home pay, we must widen our gaze as community “partners.”
A city that builds the infrastructure of brick and mortar and not the infra- structure that makes people whole – access to food, housing, transportation – essentially taunts those who pursue life, liberty and happiness. My heart goes out to those people who longed for the conditions of their neighborhood to be improved for decades, and when that change finally came, they couldn’t afford to enjoy their new surroundings.
Ken Makin is the host of Makin’ A Difference and a freelance writer for ESPN and The Christian Science Monitor, among other outlets. Look him up on Facebook at Makin’ A Difference, and you can also send him an email with your thoughts at makinadifferenceshow@gmail. com.