Urban Pro Weekly

UPW URBAN PRO WEEKLY

November 13-19, 2014 VOL. 4 NO. 10

AZTEC DANCERS perform a tribal dance during the 3rd Annual Okaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Chaffa Indian Festival in Augusta.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

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POLITICS

COMMENTARY

Should Hardie Davis be the last mayor? If we have a CEO and a board of directors, do we really need a mayor? By Frederick Benjamin Sr. UrbanProWeekly Political Analyst AUGUSTA I think one of the most important things that the next mayor should do is to see how best to eliminate the position once and for all — just finish it, put it out of its misery. Such a proposal has nothing to do with Hardie Davis. It’s just that he happens to be next in line. Eliminate the mayor? A bold proposal at first thought — but why not? A common phrase around city government these days is “think out of the box.” I’m wondering if people really mean it when they float that phrase. As the cash-strapped city ponders where to find enough cash to keep the city moving forward, why shouldn’t they start at the top and eliminate the position of the mayor. Let’s face it, the position is a relic of a bygone era when privilege and patronage ruled with an iron fist. Now, no one really supposes that the mayor would work judiciously to fire himself. Let’s just say, all he needs to do in the next four years is to enjoy himself. Now, don’t get mad at me for saying this. The framers of the city-county

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consolidation said it all when they put this thing together. They didn’t want the mayor to have any power. Well, if a mayor is not going to have any power, why have a mayor at all. Before there were cities, there were counties and county governments didn’t have mayors. Why? Because they didn’t need them. The county commissioners made the rules and enforced them. When Augustans voted to consolidate Richmond County and the City of Augusta under a single political entity, they were saying, in essence, everything in the city was crap, so let’s make it go away. And it did. The city council members — all gone. The mayor — all gone. So when they were deciding to form a new government, they made sure that the mayor would have little or no power, but they still decided to keep one around — just for old times sakes. Larry Sconyers, the first mayor of the consolidated government (19961997) said it best back in 2002. “If you’re going to have a mayor, let him be a mayor,” he said. “If not, get rid of him. You’re paying a guy $65,000 a year to go to ceremonies, and that’s a joke. We don’t need that.”

Executive Managing Editor FREDERICK BENJAMIN SR. 706-306-4647 editor@urbanproweekly.com Sales & Marketing 706-394-9411 Contributors VINCENT HOBBS Photography & New Media View Urbanproweekly on Facebook

Sconyers knows what he’s talking about. He won the mayoralty of the new consolidated government by a serious landslide, but a mere two years later, his popularity vanished and his political career was over. Can anyone name a former Augusta mayor from the consolidated government-era who ever went on to bigger and better things in electoral politics? The fact is, being powerless makes one irrelevant. So why even have a mayor? Think of it. If there was no mayor, there would be no mayor protem. There would be no mayor’s staff, no mayor’s parking space and — most importantly — no mayor’s budget. None of that. Then, think about the office space that would be freed up. Now, I know you’re wondering. If there’s no mayor, who will run the commission meetings. That’s the easiest part. Who ran the meetings in the The county commissioners did. They appointed a chairman, and that’s that. But you say, you gotta have a mayor! Why?! It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. The act that forever isolated the mayor of Augusta was the fairly benign hiring of a city manager before the newly consolidated government took power on January 1, 1996. The hiring was one of those peculiar political realities which falls under the heading of unintended consequences. The planners of the newly consolidated government never really planned to completely isolate the mayor. It just kind of worked out that way. Really, they just wanted to neutralize him, but saw him as a valuable member of the governing team. Now, the consolidation ordinance called for a strong-commission/ weak-mayor form of government. That is reflected in the new charter. But what actually evolved was a defacto council-manager form of government. One of the influences behind the council–manager form of government was the organizational structure of the corporation, with its board of directors, which hires a professional CEO to run its operations. In the case of Augusta, the profes-

sional CEO was the administrator/ manager and the board of directors is the commission. Just prior to the implementation of the new government in 1995, there were scores of outside experts both from within and without Richmond County that advised the 20-member Consolidation Transition Task Force charged with getting the new government up and running. The locals took a cue from Athens, Georgia which had successfully undergone its own consolidation in 1991 — just a few years prior to the AugustaRichmond consolidation. City officials from the Athens-Clarke Commission suggested to, then mayor Charles DeVaney and Richmond County Commission Chair Larry Sconyers, (both members of the task force) that they would definitely need professional management assistance. So the consolidation task force made the decision to hire a city manager (paid by both the city and county) for about $100,000 a year. This was to be a temporary position to be renewed annually if needed. This temporary manager was to have “imperial powers” with complete authority to make all government decisions. That’s right, all government decisions. He could fire department heads and make the final decision about how to run the government. The first “transition” manager was hired even prior to January 1, 1996, the first year of consolidation. He was Bill Carstarphen, a retired city manager living in North Carolina. However, it soon became apparent that this was not going to be a temporary position. Once things got rolling, the commissioners discovered that they liked the concept and wondered how they would ever fare without a full time administrator/manager. Several months later in October, 1996, they hired the first consolidation-era administrator, Randy Oliver. Once Oliver was hired, the post of mayor became irrelevant. So while the office of city administrator was not part of the original consolidation bill, it became a fixture in the newly consolidated government.

BAHAMAS PLANE CRASH

By Ernie Suggs esuggs@ajc.com and Shelia M. Poole spoole@ajc.com Growing up in the South and being a key civil rights figure, often on the front lines of conflict, Andrew Young has faced the possibility of death many times. Just not this weekend in the Bahamas. Young and his wife, Carolyn, spent much of Sunday and Monday fielding calls and squelching rumors that he had been slated to be aboard a plane that crashed Sunday en route from Nassau to Grand Bahama. That crash took the life of Myles Munroe, the leader of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, and eight others. Police have not officially released the victims’ identities, but Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie said Munroe’s wife, Ruth, was on the flight. According to several Bahamian news outlets, the ministry’s senior vice president and

pastor, Richard Pinder, as well as youth ministers Lavard and Rudel Parks and their young son, Johannan, were also on the plane. Several news organizations also reported that Young had backed out of the flight at the last second because of misgivings about weather conditions. Those reports variously attributed the information to a family friend or a spokesman “who didn’t want to be named.” In a statement released Monday shortly before he was set to deliver a keynote address at Munroe’s Global Leadership Forum, Young said he “was not scheduled to be on the flight carrying Dr. Munroe, his wife, and other passengers and never planned to be. Any reports to the contrary are incorrect.” Reached at their southwest Atlanta home Monday morning, Carolyn Young was more direct. People who knew that her husband

SAND HILLS URBAN DEVELOPMENT, INC NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION Request for Proposals Sand Hills Urban Development, Inc., a nonprofit development organization, is seeking a licensed General Contractor to assist in building an affordable energy efficient single family home for a low to moderate-income family. The home will be approximately 1500 sq. ft, (4) bedrooms, (2) baths, Hardy plank / Brick exterior and built to ENERGY STAR Standards. Prospective contractors must: be licensed in the State of Georgia; have workman’s compensation and general liability insurance. All Sub-Contractors must have Workman’s Compensation Insurance. Sand Hills Urban Development, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity agency and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, or physical challenges in its hiring practices and access to programs and initiatives. All bid proposals and responses must include the following minimum requirements: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Name, address, and telephone number of the company. Name of the principal owner and/or officers and the primary contact person. Price, cost proposal and proposed scope of services Copy of business license and insurance policies.

Copies of the Plans may be purchased (non refundable) from Augusta Blueprint located at 512 Reynolds Street, Augusta, GA, 30901, 706-722-6488. All bid proposals must be received by December 1, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. and submitted directly to Augusta Housing & Community Development (AHCD) at its office located at 925 Laney Walker Blvd., 2nd Floor, Augusta, GA 30901. All proposals submitted after this date will be returned to the sender and not considered. A mandatory conference for all prospective respondents will be held on November 25, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the 3nd floor conference room located at 925 Laney Walker Blvd. Bid openings will be held on December 2, 2014, 11:00 a.m. at the AHCD conference room located at 925 Laney Walker Blvd., 2nd Floor, Augusta, GA 30901. Please call Tim Wilson at 706-733-3999.

was attending the conference and weren’t able to reach him “put two and two together and got nine,” she said. “He never said he would be on Myles Munroe’s plane. People just assumed that.” Carolyn Young, who said she has gotten very little sleep in between fielding countless phone calls, said her husband will remain in Grand Bahama until Wednesday to complete his speaking engagements and honor the life of his good friend Munroe. “It’s just devastating,” she said. “He was a great man.” She said she had thought her husband might cut his visit short, “but he said, ‘No, we’re going to carry on. People came here from all over.’” She said that almost as soon as the news hit of Munroe’s death, people started calling about whether she or her husband had been involved in the crash. The couple had been in the Bahamian capital of Nassau since last

Thursday for another conference. On Sunday morning the Youngs, along with two assistants, were driven to Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau. The skies were clear, Carolyn Young said. Andrew Young took a 40-minute flight to Grand Bahama, landing at about 2 p.m. He immediately called his wife, who was about to depart on an international flight back to Atlanta. “He called to tell me that he had landed and was headed over to the conference,” Carolyn Young said. “After being home for an hour, I got the news that a plane had gone down. Andy called me and said he was fearful that it was Myles’ plane.” Munroe’s Lear 36 Executive Jet had taken off from Nassau at 4:07 p.m. and crashed while attempting to land at 5:10 p.m. at Grand Bahama International Airport, the Department of Civil Aviation said.

COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION OF RICHMOND COUNTY The Richmond County School System will accept bids and request for proposals until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, for the following: 1. Replacement School Bus Transmissions RFQ #15-686 2. Xerographic Paper RFQ #15-1020

3. Lamar-Milledge Walking Track P2014-015

4. Academy of Richmond County Gymnasium Floor Resurfacing P2014-019 5. Charter Bus Service RFP #14-682

The Richmond County School System will accept bids and request for proposals until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, for the following: 6. Commodity Processing RFQ #15-688

Bid specifications may be obtained by contacting Amy Bauman in the Business Office at 706-826-1298, on our web site at www. rcboe.org, or at the Richmond County School System, Central Office, 864 Broad Street, 4th Floor, Augusta, Georgia 30901. The Richmond County School System reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive technicalities and informalities. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION OF RICHMOND COUNTY By: Dr. Angela D. Pringle, Secretary

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

Reports of Andrew Young’s death exaggerated

UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

IMAGES

SPORTS

Paine College wide receiver Austin Beamus (R) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown. Photo by Vincent Hobbs Paine College wide receiver Don Quarles, Jr. gets tackled from the back by Benedict College defensive back Harmon Brown during the Augusta City Classic, held at Laney Stadium on Saturday. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

A Paine College cheerleader motivates the crowd of football fans gathered at the Augusta City Classic. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Paine debuts in City Classic with a victory

Photographer Gary Tigler (L) takes a photo of football fans gathered at the Augusta City Classic. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

Paine College defeated Benedict College in the annual Augusta City Classic football game with a final score of 45-34. The Lions’ victory over the Tigers marked the end of the football season and was Paine’s first SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) win since football’s return after 52 years.

Augusta City Classic Hall of Fame inductees (L-R) Don Brock, Marvin Lanover, Ron Spry, Roscoe Williams and Norman Bonner pose for pictures during the football event, held at Laney Stadium on Saturday. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

Rosewood Club sponsors

Jaguar Madness GRU Augusta basketball player Tavia Sykes (center) waits for her name to be called to meet basketball fans during Jaguar Madness, a basketball pep rally held at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The event, sponsored by The Rosewood Club, attracted hundreds of Jaguars fans and featured cheerleaders, slam dunk contests, a donut eating contest and other activities for fan participation. Photo by Vincent Hobbs GRU Augusta cheerleaders perform during Jaguar Madness, a basketball pep rally held at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

9 UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

IMAGES CULTURE

Native dancers perform an inter-tribal dance during the 3rd Annual Oka’Chaffa Indian Festival, held at New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam Park. The two-day pow-wow featured inter-tribal dancing, storytelling, wildlife displays, Native art, food and craft vendors and a Living Tipi Village. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

A gathering of the tribes Oka’Chaffa Indian Festival A woman poses for a photo during the 3rd Annual Oka’Chaffa Indian Festival. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

Okefenokee Joe, aka Dick Flood, wrangles an Eastern diamond back rattlesnake during the 3rd Annual Oka’Chaffa Indian Festival, held at New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam Park. Okefenokee Joe, a country music singer, as well as a naturalist and environmentalist, lived in the Okefenokee Swamp for 10 years. Photo by Vincent Hobbs

State PTA meeting here featured education leaders AUGUSTA Georgia State PTA President Rita Erves was the keynote speaker at this past weekend’s meeting at A.R. Johnson Magnet School. The event, sponsored by Georgia State PTA, featured several speakers including Dr. Angela D Pringle, Richmond County School Superintendent. The theme of the gathering was “Growing Into A New Beginning.” Erves’ theme, entitled “Come Join the Journey” emphasized commitment, struggle, connection and challenges. “What makes a strong leader is their ability to relate to a group of diverse people. People can smell a fake and a phony a mile away,” she said. Erves stressed the importance of strong membership in Georgia’s PTAs, stating that “there is power in numbers. When PTA’s attend National

Conferences, we want to represent our State to the utmost.” Pringle, a past Principal of the Year for her work in building PTSAs, emphasized her role as an advocate for “public schools”. She underscored the need for PRIDE in public education. Teachers, staff and administrators need to be proud of their mission within the public schools. “Pride ensures achievement. If you take pride in what you do, no matter what, you will be successful,” Pringle said. Public schools need to celebrate academic success and not just for A’s and B’s but all improvements and accomplishments, she said. Dr. Detruis Jones, Georgia PTA State Legislation Chair, gave an overview of the new Common Core State Standards which replaced the CRCT

FOR THE

ASK

UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

for students in the State of Georgia. This standard is to improve educational outcomes for students by developing a set of consistent, clear K-12 academic standards in English language

art and mathematics. Dr. Jones says jobs will be moved to other states outside of Georgia if we don’t have people that qualify or have the skills to work in certain capacities.

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Due to unforeseen shortfalls planning the 2014 Georgia Literary Festival in Augusta, it is with regret that we announce that the Festival is postponed until November 2015. Although well planned, the desired sponsorship goal did not reach fruition. To deliver a wellplanned and well-funded festival, as promised, to the City of Augusta, the decision was made to postpone the festival so that the commitments made to the community, the authors, and vendors would be honored, and relationships with sponsors could be developed, fully. With commitments in place from our current sponsors, The Georgia Literary Festival in Augusta is scheduled for Nov. 6-8, 2015.

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UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

UPW FORUM by Kristie Robin Johnson

The end of an era Last Tuesday’s midterm election resulted in what many are calling a “Republican wave”. Whether that is a good thing or bad thing depends on your politics and your perspective. Republicans winning big in Georgia is no surprise. Georgia has been a dependably red state for a while now. Some polls hinted at changes for the Peach State, but they were way off. However, there was one significant change that will undoubtedly change the face of regional politics for the CSRA, the state of Georgia, and possibly the entire Southern United States. After ten years of devoted service to Richmond and surrounding counties, Congressman John Barrow (D- GA 12) was finally defeated by his Republican opponent. The GOP has used every tactic possible to unseat Barrow since the moment that he was elected. The Blue Dog Democrat had survived near-constant congressional map re-drawing by Georgia’s Republican controlled legislature, numerous and demeaning

attack ads, and a long and constantly growing line of potential challengers. During his tenure, Congressman Barrow worked tirelessly to improve the lives of his constituents. He was an outspoken advocate for our veteran population and, for better or worse, he proved to be one of the most bipartisan voices of reason in U.S. House of Representatives during an era in which “compromise” became a dirty word. Barrow was probably best known for what every true public servant should be known for—his commitment to constituent services. I had the great honor of working on his constituent services staff for seven of his ten years in office. As Congressman Barrow prepares to transition out of office and Congressman-elect Rick Allen prepares to move in, one thing is crystal clear. Partisan politics in Georgia and much of the Deep South can now be drawn down stark racial lines. The defeat of John Barrow took white Southern

John Barrow Democrats from the endangered species list to the extinct column. One must consider what this says about us as a people and a culture. Are we moving forward or are we taking a step back

into our divided past? Whether you like it or not, the world needs more John Barrow’s. We need more politicians who are inclined to listen to multiple perspectives. As grueling as it is, the pressure of having to re-earn your job every two years will keep you honest. It will also ensure your commitment to hard work and listening to the needs of voters. The vast majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are considered “safe seats”. This means that the seat is strategically drawn into an area that will guarantee a certain type of representation. Some seats are reliably Democratic and some are reliably Republican. Barrow’s seat was neither. He was well aware of this fact and never took it for granted; not even for one second. What the future holds for the Georgia’s twelfth congressional district is left to be seen. But this is certain, Congressman Barrow’s service to this area was second to none and won’t long be forgotten. KristieRobinJo@gmail.com @KristieRobinJ on Twitter http://kristierobinspeaks.wordpress. com/

UPW FORUM by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

How the GOP bought and rigged, the 2014 Election By Bob Fitrakis Wasserman

and

Harvey

Since the Bush-Cheney-Rove theft of the 2000 election in Florida, the right of millions of American citizens to vote and have that vote counted has been under constant assault. In 2014, that systematic disenfranchisement may well have delivered the US Senate to the Republican Party. If nothing significant is done about it by 2016, we can expect the GOP to take the White House and much more. The primary victims of this GOP-led purge have been young, elderly, poor and citizens of color who tend to vote Democratic. The denial of their votes has changed the face of our government, and is deepening corporate control of our lives and planet. There’s no doubt the Democrats have alienated their core constituency and given millions of their former supporters little reason to vote. Perpetual war, blank checks for mega-banks, stiffing the working poor while giving

away the planet to the rich—these are all part of the malaise. Our political landscape is currently defined by corporate personhood and its gutting of the Democratic Party. Part of that is the destruction of our electoral rights, and the refusal of the Democrats to even face the issue, let alone do something about it. Our voting system is, to put it mildly, bought and rigged, further feeding the deadening sense of public futility and frustration. As the GOP moves toward total control of our governance—the media, the internet, the Supreme Court, the Congress, local government and, in 2016, the presidency—our future depends on knowing the nuts and bolts of how the destruction of our democracy proceeds, and what we can do to stop it. In this year’s takeover of the US Senate and many statehouses, barely more than a third of the eligible citizenry was credited with having voted. Official vote counts gave the

GOP a consistent “bonus” of about 5% over pre-election polls. In the US Senate race in North Carolina and the Governor’s race in Florida, that margin clearly gave the Republicans their victories, and probably did the same in many other close races. The GOP’s Jim Crow disenfranchisement campaign has outright robbed millions of citizens of their right to vote. It’s deliberately created an air of confusion and doubt that’s further suppressed the turnout. Greg Palast, for example, has reported extensively on the Kansas-based “cross-check” technique, used in 28 states, where Republican secretaries of state denied voting rights based on arbitrary judgements that allowed them to eliminate several million potential Democratic voters. (Greg will discuss this on the Solartopia Show at prn.fm Tuesday, 11/11, 5pm EST; the show will be archived for later listening). Deliberate (and often illegal) disinformation campaigns, destruction of voter registration forms, outright

intimidation, repressive photo ID requirements and other suppression techniques made things worse. It’s by design, not accident, that America’s voter turnout is ranked 120th among all nations. In evaluating the actual vote count, manipulation of untrackable electronic voting machines must also be accounted for. Over the years, Bev Harris, Brad Friedman, Jon Simon, Richard Charney and many others have added vital research leading to the inevitable conclusion that the 2014 election— like 2000 and 2004—was essentially bought, rigged, stolen and lynched. We do not believe the Republican Party legitimately won the US Senate or many of the statehouses they’ve been granted, any more than George W. Bush should have been handed the White House in 2000 and 2004. Unless we finally face the core issues of election protection, history could Continued on page 14

WORSHIP

Tabernacle’s Fall Fire Revival continues

RESTORATION CHURCH ACTIVITIES

AUGUSTA Tabernacle Baptist Church continues its Fall Fire Revival, every Thursday through Nov. 20th. The revival will take place at Tabernacle Baptist Church each Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Each year, Tabernacle Baptist Church invites some of the best preachers from throughout the Nation to deliver impactful messages. This week the revival continues with Dr. William H. Curtis of Mt. A rarat Baptist Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will

7 DAYS OF THANKSGIVING NOVEMBER 19– 25 Nov 19th - Wednesday Night Prayer & Bible Study Nov 20th - Midday Bible Study Nov 21st – Midday Bible Study Nov 22nd - Pre-Thanksgiving 2k Run/Walk Nov 23rd - Thanksgiving Morning Service Nov 24th - Midday Bible Study Nov 25th – Super Tuesday Bible Study & Turkey Giveaway (Sheila Vassar Bust Dedication)

conclude with Rev. Dr. F. Bruce Williams of Bates Memorial Baptist Church, in Louisville, K Y on November 20th. For more information about Tabernacle Baptist Church’s Fall Fire Revival or to join us LIVE via Streaming Faith, visit http://www. tbcaugusta.org For more information, contact Tabernacle Baptist Church at (706) 724-1230 or visit the Tabernacle Baptist Church website at www.tbcaugusta.org.

Sunday School 8:30 am Morning Worship Services: 9:45 am Evening Worship Services 6 pm (4th Sunday) Bible Study: 6pm (Mondays) Midday Bible Study: 12pm (Tuesdays) Prayer Services: 6pm (Wednesdays) Celebrate Recovery: 6pm (Fridays) and 12pm (Mondays) 2323 Barton Chapel Road • Augusta,GA 30906 706.790.8185 / 706.922.8186 (fax) Visit Us @ www.broadwaybaptistaug.org • Join us on facebook Dr. C. William Joyner, Jr. Senior Pastor

Start your calling today! Mount Olivet Certified Academic Institution 706.793.0091 • 706.793.0335 • www.mocai-aug.org

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

Rev. Clarence Moore, Pastor 1714 Olive Road / P. O. Box 141 (mailing address) Augusta, GA 30903 706/733-0341- Telephone/706/667-0205 – Fax E-mail address: admin@goodshepherdaugusta.org Web address: goodshepherdaugusta.org Rev. Clarence Moore Church Service: 7:45 & 11:00 a.m. Church School: 9:45 a.m. / Prayer Service: 11:00 a.m. – Wednesday Bible Study: 9:00 a.m. - Saturday / 7:00 p.m. - Wednesday

Everfaithful Missionary Baptist Church

314 Sand Bar Ferry Road Augusta, Georgia 30901 (706) 722- 0553 Church School Sunday 9:25am Morning Worship Sunday 11am Evening Worship 6pm (1st & 3rd Sunday) Midday Prayer 12pm Wednesday Intercessory Prayer/Bible Study 6pm Wednesday

Bishop Rosa L. Williams, Pastor

Radio Broadcast: Sundays • WKZK 103.7 FM at 7:30 a.m.

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

CHURCH

ELECTIONS from p. 3

UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

repeat itself in 2016 as both tragedy and farce. Because the dust is still settling, many of the specifics about 2014 remain hidden. In the coming weeks we’ll present as much of the evidence as we can gather. In the meantime, we welcome President Obama’s new statements supporting net neutrality. There’s no more important foundation for what shreds of democracy remain to us than the ability to freely communicate. Handing control of the internet to mega-corporations, as proposed by the current (Democratic) head of the Federal Communications Commission, would be catastrophic. As with reclaiming our elections, our future on this planet demands an open global highway for unfettered communication. We must do everything we can to preserve and expand it. We also congratulate US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for proposing that election day become a national holiday. After the 2004 deba-

cle, we proposed a four-day election holiday to cover the first Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday in November. (The Constitution requires that voting happen the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November). This fourday stretch would help enshrine access to our election process as the sacred ritual it should be. We also propose universal automatic voter registration, universal hand-counted paper bal-

lots, abolition of the Electoral College, and a massive reform of the role of money in politics. We hope Sen. Sanders’ initial proposal opens the door to a bottom-up remake of our electoral system. Without it, our democracy is nothing more than a hollow shell. Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore how that shell was cracked yet again in 2014. All indicators are that it could be definitively crushed in two years if we don’t act now.

Theme: Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS FREE Generation

Anthony R. Page to direct Shades of Love AUGUSTA Raisin AJ Productions has selected Anthony R. Page to direct Shades of Love, a new stage play written by Miss Monique LaShon, an on-air personality with Clear Channel’s Power 107 in Augusta, GA. The dramatic play will debut at the historic Imperial Theatre in Augusta, GA on November 15th at 7pm. Shades of Love looks at the struggle for acceptance by an interracial couple as they attempt to win the approval of their families. It’s a story of hope, inspiration and laughter that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Page remarked, “the play is well-written with very well defined characters, which is always great for a director.” Shades of Love will feature breakout performances by Samuel Fudge, Amanda Lynn Joyce, Matt Calcutt and Benetra “The Boss Lady” Calhoun.

Greens in Georgia to host film preview at Humanitree House The public is invited to the next gathering of The Richmond /Columbia County Greens on November 20 at 7 pm at The Humanitree House Smoothie and Juice Bar/Art Gallery located at 230 8th Street, Augusta, GA.30901. A preview of the film, The Next American Revolution, Beyond Corporate Capitalism and State Socialism, featuring historian and political economist, Gar Alperovitz will be presented. You may join the discussion and find out more about what is happening with Greens in Georgia and across the nation. For more information, call 706.364.7861

Paine College- Candler Library November 20, 2014 6:00pm

December 1st is WORLD AIDS DAY. As we all know, this disease has made its stain in our community and has to be halted. On

November 20, 2014, we will have a Forum/Family Night on the campus of Paine College in the Candler Library from 6pm-8pm. We are asking the community to attend and hear various topics and answers from persons living with HIV, Health Educators and Medical Professionals.

This is a FREE event which will also provide FREE FOOD and FREE HIV TESTING.

Stress Physical Inactivity Family History of Cardiovascular disease Obesity Diabetes High Blood Pressure High Cholesterol Cigarette Smoking HEART ATTACK • BRAIN ATTACK • PREVENT ATTACK East Central Health District Hypertension Management Outreach Program

Richmond County 706.721.5800

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

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UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2014

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